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BANISTERIA

A JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

'•’tW YORK
’Ol mimiCAL GARDEN

ISSN 1066-07 1 2

1996

Number 7

BAN ISTERIA

A JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

ISSN 1066-0712

Published by the Virginia Natural History Society

Tie Virginia Natural History Society' OVNHS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the dissemination of
scientific information on all aspects of natural history in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Membership in
VNHS includes a subscription to Banisteria. Annual dues are $15.00 (i>er calendar year); library subscriptions
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Checks should be made payable to the Virginia Natural History Society. Membership dues and inquiries
should be directed to the Secretary-Treasurer; correspondence regarding Banisteria to one of the co-editors.
Banisteria is a peer-reviewed journal.

Editorial staff: Banisteria
Co-editors

Joseph C. Mitchell, Department of Biology and School of Continuing Studies
Llniversity of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia 23173

Richard L. Hoffman, Virginia Museum of Natural History,

Martinsville, Virginia 24112

Associate Editors
Botany

Thomas F. Wieboldt, Department of Biology,

Virginia Polytechnic Institute <Sc State University,

Blacksburg, Virginia 24061

Parasitology

Ralph P. Eckerlin, Natural Sciences Division,

Northern Virginia Community College,

Annandale, Virginia 22003

Entomology

Alfred G. Wheeler, Jr., Bureau of Plant Industry,

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110

Production Consultant
Carl W. Hoffman

1 103 Tyler Avenue, Radford, Virginia 24141

Banisteria No. 6 was published on 15 IDecember 1995.

Cover: Magnolia vngimana Linnaeus. Original drawing by John Banister, sent to Bishop D. H. Compton in
1689; figure 90 in folio in Sir Hans Sloane’s MS 4002 in the British Museum. Tiis and other Banister
drawings were provided by Joseph and Nesta Ewan.

BAN ISTERIA

A JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THU NATURAL HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Number 7, 1996

Table of Contents

Recently Discovered Populations of Small Whorled Pogonia (Isotria medeoloulcs) in Virginia
Nancy7 E. Van Alstine, William H. Moorhead III, Allen Belden, Jr., Thomas J. Rawinski, and
J. Christopher Ludwig . 3

Historical Records of the Trumpeter Swan in Virginia

David W. Johnston . 9

The Odonata erf Fort A. P. Hill and Vicinity, Caroline County, Virginia

Steven M. Roble and Christopher S. Hobson . 1 1

Natural History Notes on the Amphibians of a Recently Extirpated Suburban Wetland in Central Virginia

Joseph C. Mitchell . 41

Occurrence of die Costate RiversnaiL, Oxytrema catenaria (Say), in Virginia (Gastropoda: Pleuroceridae)

Richard L. Hoffman . 49

Injury of a Northern W atersnake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon) in a Mountain Stream During Severe Flooding

Joseph C. Mitchell and Christopher Todd W. Georgel . . . 51

Hydrobiomorpha casta (Say) in Virginia (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)

Warren E. Steiner, Jr . 53

Shorter Contributions

Leaf-carrying with the 1 ail in the Virginia Opossum, Didelphis vnginiana

John F. Pagels . 55

Another Case of Albinism in a Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsolete) from Virginia

Joseph C. Mitchell and Gary M. Williamson . : . 56

Miscellanea

Book Review

Birds of the Blue Ridge Mountains - C. Michael Stinson . 57

Reports . 58

Announcements . 59

Instructions for Contributors . 60

VNHS Officers

President: C. Barry Knisley, Department of Biology’,
Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia 23005

Vice-President: Thomas ). Rawinski, Division of Natural Heritage,
1500 E. Main Street, Suite 312, Richmond, Virginia 23219

Secretary' -Treasurer: Anne C. Lund, Department of Biology,
Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, Virginia 23943

Councilor: Richard J. Neves, Department of Fisheries <Sc Wildlife,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute <St Stare University',
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0321

Councilor: Norman], Fashing, Department of Biology',
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia 23185

Banisiena , Number 7, 1996

** 1996 by the Virginia Natural Histors' Society

Recently Discovered Populations of Small Whorled
Pogonia (Isotria medeoloides) in Virginia

Nancy E. Van Alstine, William H. Moorhead Ill, Allen Belden, Jr.,
Thomas J. Rawinski, and J. Christopher Ludwig

Virginia Department- of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage
1500 E. Main Street, Suite 312 Richmond, Virginia 23219

Small whorled pogonia ( Isotria medeoloides ) is a rare and
elusive orchid federally listed as threatened under the
Endangered Species Act and state listed as endangered
under the Virginia Endangered Plant and Insect Act.
This orchid, extant in 15 states in the eastern and
midwestern U.S. and one Canadian province (U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 1994), occurs in relatively common
types of second- and third-growth forest habitats (U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 1992). In 1990, the ten extant
colontes in Virginia were known only from the Coastal
Plain (Ware, 1991). Two single-stem occurrences of small
whorled pogonia had been documented in the Piedmont,
in Buckingham and Appomattox Counties. These
occurrences, however, have not been seen since their
discoveries in 1968 and 1979, respectively, despite
attempts to relocate them (Harvill, 1969; G. Rouse, pers.
comm.; C.E. Stevens, pers. comm.). During rare plant
inventories conducted from 1990-1994, we documented
seven new populations of Isotria medeoloides. Two of these
populations are located on the Coastal Plain, four are on
the eastern Piedmont, and one is documented for the first
time from Virginia’s Cumberland Plateau.

In this paper, we describe these new Isotria medeoloides
populations and discuss their conservation status. Infor¬
mation for each population appears in Table 1. Voucher
photographs taken at two of the sites have been deposited
at the College of William and Mary Herbarium (Photo
Vouchers NVA #001 and 002 for Population 4; WHM
#1526 for Population 7). Due to the rare and vulnerable
status of this species, we did not collect specimens and are
providing only watershed information instead of more
specific locality data.

In Table 2 we have compared habitat characteristics at
the seven new sites with habitat characteristics previously

documented for the species in Virginia (Ware, 1991).
The majority of the new sites, including the Cumberland
Plateau site, share most of these habitat characteristics.

Hie discovery of Isotria medeoloides in the Cumberland
Plateau of Virginia sparked questions about how the
habitat compares floristically with that of other
populations, particularly those in Virginia and the
southern Appalachians. Population 7 is closer geo¬
graphically to the North Carolina (NC), South Carolina
(SC), Georgia (GA), and Tennessee (TN) populations
than to the other Virginia (VA) populations. In addition,
the population occurs in a mountain physiographic
province, as do the NC, SC, GA, and TN populations. A
total of 32 species were recorded in a vegetation plot
sampled at Population 7 (Table 3). We compared this list
with lists generated for sites in VA, NC, SC, GA, and TN,
as well as range wide data (Virginia Department of
Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural
Heritage field survey reports; Gaddy, 1985; Mehrhoff,
1980; Rawinski, 1986; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
1992; Ware, 1987; N. Murdock, pers. comm.; M. Pyne,
pers. comm.; A Shea, pers. comm.; C. Wentworth, pers.
comm.). A rigorous floristic comparison was not
attempted here because complete floristic plot data were
not available for many of the sites. However, the following
observations can be made from the available data. Two
species occurring at the Cumberland Plateau site
(Population 7), Acer rubrum and Medeola virgin larui, are
frequent associates of Isotria medeoloides throughout its
range. No Pinus species occur at the Population 7 site,
similar to the TN and other VA sites where Pinus species
are either lacking or represent a minor component of the
canopy. Pinus strobus, however, is an important canopy
species in most of the NC, SC, and GA sites,

BAN'ISTERIA

NO 7. 1QQ6

Table 1. Location and status of recendy discovered Isotria medeoloides populations in Virginia.

Population

Huabar

Province

Coastal

Plain

Coaata 1

Plain

Pladaont

Piadnont

Pladmont

Cuabarland

Plataau

County

Carolina

Carol Ina

Pr Inca

Wllllaa

Stafford

Prtnca

Wllllaa

Pr Inca

Wllllaa

La*

Drain*?*

Paaln

Catt l*t

Craak

Portob*?o

Craak

Quantico

Craak

Chopawaaalc

Craak

Cadar Pun

Powalla

Craak

Porth Pork

Powall Plvar

Dlacovary

Data

10/27/90

t/2/94

4/6/91

6/13/91

7/11/91

7/6/93

6/22/94

Huobar of

Statsa'

Muttbar In
rlowar/Pruit

0/2

0/3

2/7

1/0

0/0

0/3

Photo

Vouchar

Ya*

Yaa

Ownarahlp

Publ lc

Pr Ivata

Public

Pr ivata

-f

Public

1 Number of stems seen in the year of discovery.

and in many of the sites in northern states. The mom
tane species Rhododendron maximum, Quercus prinus, and
Viola hastata occur at the Population 7 site and other
southern Appalachian sites, but do not occur at the other
Virginia Isotria medeoloides sites.

Of importance for the conservation of small whorled
pogonia is the fact that five of the seven new populations
occur on federal birds where they are afforded protection
under the Endangered Species Act, as amended.
Managers of these federally-owned sites are actively
monitoring the popubtions and funding searches for new
popubtions on their respective managed areas. In
addition, one of the private bndowners has agreed to
designate a protection area which will be pbced in a
conservation easement. We encourage further surveys for
Isotria medeolouies in the abundant, unsurveyed habitat
that exists in Virginia, and we hope that the information
provided here will contribute to future discoveries of this

elusive orchid.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank T. Stamps (Marine Corps Combat
Envelopment Command, Quantico, VA) and L Nutt and
F.C. Huber, Jr. (George Washington 6c Jefferson National
Forests, Roanoke, VA) for their help in locating
additional stems in the year of discovery. N. Murdock
(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Asheville, NC), R.
Roecker (Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests,
Columbia, SC), A. Shea and M. Pyne (Tennessee Natural
Heritage Program, Nashville, TN), and C. Wentworth
(Chattahoochee and Oconee National Forest, Bbirsville,
GA) provided data from the small whorled pogonia
habitats in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,
and Georgia, respectively. The survey work that led to the
discovery of the new Isotria medeoloides popubtions was

VANALST1NE Lrl Al. SMAU WHORl IP PvX'-ONlA

Table 2. Comparison of the habitat cliaraacrtstics of the seven rejxirted Isotria mctleoloida imputations with some
characteristics previously observed for other Virginia populations. (Modified from a table prepared for Belden <Sr Van
Alstine, 1992).

POPULATIONS

(PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCE)

(CP)

(Pd)

(CuP)

Habitat Characteristica

Level to moderate
slope inclination

Yes

Northern to
eastern aspect

No* 1

Yes

Yea

Yes

No2 3 *

Partly5 6

Yes

% Herbaceous ground
cover low to

non-existent

Yes1

Yes

Acidic sandy
loam soil

Yes5

Yes*

Yes5

?7 8

Yes'

Nearby canopy
opening

Yea

Yes

Presence of

Yes

Partly

Yes

dead wood

(includes standing dead
and/or wood litter on
ground)

CP = Coastal Plain; Pd = Piedmont; CuP = Cumberland Plateau
ND = No data collected for this characteristic.

1 Southern aspect

2 Level floodplain

3 Northeastern aspect for most of population, but four stems on lower slo[>e with slight western aspect.

i Although herbaceous ground cover was sparse, low ericaceous shrubs were more prominent than in the other six sites.

5 Based on soil survey for Prince William County (Elder, 1989).

6 Based on soil ssurvey for Stafford County (Isgrig <Sc Strobel, 1974).

7 Population 3 is located near 3 soil map units on the Prince William Co. soil survey map (Elder, 1989), and the exact
soil map unit where the Isotria meiLeoloides grows was not determined. All of the soil map units consist of acidic loams
and one is an acidic sandy loam.

8 Based on field analysis.

BANISTER I A

NO 7, 1996

Table 3. Vascular plant taxa* associated with Isotria medeoloidcs at Population 7, Lee County, VA. Nomenclature
follows Kartesz (1994).

Tree stratum ( >6 m tall): Herb stratum (il m tall):

Acer rubrum
Quercua prinua
Quercua rubra
Quercua velutlna

Shrub stratum (woody plants 1-6 m
tall) :

Acer rubrum
Betula lenta
CaBtanea dentata
Cornua florid a
Fagua grandlfolla
Magnolia fraaerl
Myaaa aylvatlca
Oxydendrum arboreum
Rhododendron cumberlandenae
Rhododendron maximum
Saaaafraa albldum
Vacclnlum corymbosum

Acer rubrum
Amel&nchler arborea
Amphlcarpaea bracteata
A ureolarla flava
Chlmaphlla maculata
Dlchanthellum commutatum
Oalax urceolata
Centlana decora
Kalmla latlfolla
Magnolia cf. acuminata
Maianthemum racemosum
Medeola vlrglnlana
Myaaa aylvatlca
Polyatlchum acroatlcholdea
Rhododendron cumberlandenae
SaaBafraa albldum
cf. Scutellaria sp.

Smllax rotundlfolla
Vacclnlum pallidum
Vacclnlum atamlneum
Viola haatata

*The taxa were recorded on 22 June 1994 from a circular plot of 11.28m radius centered near the middle of the Isotria
medeoloides population. The plot included all known Isotria stems.

funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia, EPS.
Department of Defense, Tire Nature Conservancy, the
USDA Forest Service, and a private landowner.

County, Virginia. USDA Soil Conservation Service and
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
Blacksburg, VA. 245 pp.

LITERATURE CITED

Belden, A_, Jr. <Sc N.E. Van Alstine. 1992. Newly dis-
covered populations of Isotria medeoloides (small whorled
pogonia) in Virginia. Virginia Journal of Science 43: 235.

Elder, J. IL, Jr. 1989. Soil Survey of Pri nee William

Gaddy, L.L. 1985. Tire status of Isotria medeoloides in
South Carolina. Unpublished report. South Carolina
Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Columbia,
SC. 17 pp.

Harvill, A.M., Jr. 1969. Isotria medeoloides on the Piedmont
of Virginia. Rlrodora 71: 303-304.

VAN ALSTINE ET AL SMALL WHORLED POGONIA

Isgrig, D.&A. Sfrobcl, Jr. 1974. Soil Surv'ey of Stafford
and King George Counties, Virginia. USDA Soil
Conservation Service and Virginia Polytechnic Instimte
and Stare University, Blacksburg, VA. 124 pp.

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A Synonymized Checklist of the
Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada, and
Greenland. Second Edition. Volume 1 - Checklist. Biota
of North American Program of the North Carolina
Botanical Garden. Timber Press, Portland, OR. 622 pp.

Meluhoff, L.A. Ill. 1980. The reproductive biology of
the genus lsotria (Orchidaceae) and the ecology of Isotna
medeoloidts. M.S. Thesis, University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, NC. 65 pp.

Rawinski, T. 1986. Element stewardship abstract for
Isotna mcdeoloides' small whorled pogonia. Unpublished
report. Eastern Heritage Task Force, The Nature
Conservancy, Boston, MA. 16 pp.

UTS. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1992. Small Whorled

Pogonia (lsotria viedeoloules) Recovery Plan, First Revision.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Newton Comer, MA. 75

pp.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1994. Endangered and
threatened wildlife and plants; final rule to reclassify the
plant Isotna medooloides (small whorled pogonia) from
endangered to threatened. Federal Register 59(193):
50852-50857.

Ware, D.M.E. 1987. Quantitative analysis of vegetation,
canopy cover, and decaying matter in the habitat of lsotria
medeoloides and lsotria nerticillata in Virginia. Unpublished
report SWP-DWT3. Virginia Department of Agriculture,
Bureau of Plant Protection and Pesticide Regulation,
Richmond. 41 pp.

Ware, D.M.E. 1991. Small whorled pogonia ( lsotria
medeoloides). Pp. 95-97 In K. Tenvilliger (coordinator),
Virginia's Endangered Species. McDonald and Wood-
ward Publishing Co., Blacksburg, VA.

Figure 1. Known Virginia localities for lsotria medeoloides

Banisteria , Numl>er7, 1996
© 1996 by the Virginia Natural History Society

Historical Records of the Trumpeter Swan in Virginia

David W. Johnston

5219 Concordia Street
Fairfax, Virginia 22032

The earliesr accounts of bird life in colonial Virginia often
contained references to swans (or "swannes"). Mention of
these birds in the 17th century as being found in present-day
Virginia can be found in the writings of Thomas Studley
(1607), Joint Smith (1608), William Stradiey (1610), Thomas
Glover (1676), Joint Banister (circa 1680 fide Ewan 6c Ewan
1970), and others. These writers, however, did not specifically
identify the type of swan mentioned.

Writing about the birds in "Carolina" in 1709, John
Lawson listed the species seen by him between 1700 and
1708. He wrote about swans: "we have two sorts; the one we
call Trompeters; because of a sort of trompeting Noise they
nrake...The [other] sort of Swans call'd Hoopers are the least."
In the 1950s, W. L McAree made incisive studies of early
North American bird records induding dtose from North
Carolina and Virginia (1955, 1956a, b). Among these early
Virginia accounts was a letter by Rev. John Clayton in 1688
to the Royal Society of London. As "a parson with a sdentific
mind" (Berkeley <Sc Berkeley 1965) and "the best bird observer
who had reached the American colonies" (Steams 1970),
Clayton spent two years in Virginia (1684-1686), dtiefby in
the environs of Jamestown. His letter contained a section "Of
the Birds" whidt listed the birds seen by him in Virginia.
McAree (1955, p.58), in his review of the Clayton letters,
identified the "modem equivalents" of Clayton's "Wild Swans"
as: Two spedes, the whistling swan (Cygnus columbianus ) and
die trumpeter swan (Cypiws buccinator), then occurred in
Virginia." (underline added)

The book entided "William Byrd's Natural History of
Virginia or The Newly Discovered Eden" contains references
to swans. It was first published in German in 1737, then

edited and translated from the Gentian version by Ridimond
C. Beatty <Sc William J. Mulloy (1940). These editors insisted
(p. xxviii) that "This volume contains die most detailed
account in existence of die natural history of colonial
Virginia." In the book on p. 69 appears the following
translated passages: "Two species of swans are found. One is
called the trumpeter [swan], since it utters a sound like a
trumpet. This is die largest sort. [It] comes diere in winter in
great flocks, and ordinarily stays several months in the fresh
rivers.... The other s[iecies of swans are called hoopers, and are
smaller."

P. G. Adams (1957) and other critics of diis book
compared "Byrd's Natural History of Virginia" with accounts
in Lawson's "New Voyage to Carolina" (1709). The striking
similarity in die language between die two accounts
convinced Adams (1957, 1962) that the author of "Byrd's
Natural History" had plagiarized Lawson. The current opinion
is, despite die insistence of Beatty <Sc Mulloy,* that Samuel
Jenner, and not William Byrd, was the principal if not sole
audior of "William Byrd's Natural History of Virginia," and
that most of the natural history accounts (including swans)
were taken and reworded from Lawson's book. Thus,
references to swans in "Byrd's Namral History" pertained to
North Carolina and not Virginia.

Another early account of swans in Virginia appears in
Joseph Martin's gazetteer of Virginia (1835). In the section on
"Alexandria" (pp. 483-484) is the following narrative: "The
Swan is not found nearer than about 30 miles below
Washington; at the moudi of Occoquan, on the right bank of
the river is his highest feeding ground.... Here, and for some
30 or 40 miles below, this noble bird is seen floating near die

JOHNSTON TRUMPim-R SWAN

shores, in flocks of some two or three hundred, white as the
driven snow, and from rime to time, emitting fine sonorous
and occasionally melodious songs, so loud that they may be
heard on a still evening two or three miles; there are two
kinds, so called from their respective notes-the one the
trumpeter, and the other the slooper [hooper = whistling =
tundra]; the trumpeter is the largest-and when at full size, will
measure five to six feet from bill to the point of die toe, and
from seven to eight feet from the tip of one wing to the tip of
the other, when stretched and expanded. They are sagacious
and waiy, and dejiend more on the sight than on the sense of
smelL On a neck nearly three feet in length, they are enabled
to elevate their head so as to see and distinguish with a quick
and penetrating eye objects at a great distance, and by means
of this same length of neck diey feed in slack tides, by
immersing, as is dieir habit, nearly all of die lxxly-and
throwing only their feet and tails out, in three or four feet
water, and on the flatty shores diey frequent, generally beyond
gun-shot;. ..the swan remain here die whole winter, only
shifting their ground in severe weather from the frozen to the
open part of the river, and dropping down into the salts
where it is rarely frozen. They get into good condition soon
after amval in autumn, and remain fat until toward spring-
when a few weeks before their departure about the first of
March, they gradually become diinner in flesh...."

The moudi of the Occoquan River, Oocoquan Bay, and
Martin's "right bank of the river" soudi of Occoquan belong
to Virginia. Therefore, some of die Trumpeter Swans
mentioned by Martin were indeed in Virginia waters.

Other published reports of the Trumpeter Swan in
Virginia have been less specific as to dates and places but
provide additional information about the bird in the state.

(1) W illiam Homaday (1913) wrote (p. 20): "since that rime
[1900] Dr. Leonard C. Sanford procured two living birds
from a bird dealer who obtained them on die coast of
Virginia." Discounting that record, Murray (1952, p. 32)
noted: "(The record in W illiam T. Homaday's Vanishing Wild
Life, p. 20 of Two Trumpeter Swans, Cygnus buccinator
Richardson, procured on the coast of Virginia by Dr. L C.
Sanford is an error. Dr. Frank M. Chapman checked the
record for us and learned that die birds really came from
Montana.)"

(2) The A.O.U. Check-list of 1957 (p. 60) contains the
following statement for the Trumpeter Swan: "Formerly.. .on
the Atlantic sealxiard to North Carolina."

(3) In die only thorough, scientific study of die Trumpeter
Swan, Winston Banko (1960, p. 20 ) remarked that "enough
acceptable records are available from die states of ...Maryland,
Virginia, and North Carolina in the Atlantic flyway to
demonstrate that the trumpeter still apjieared as a migrant or
winter resident in those states during die last half of the I9di

cenniry." A map on p. 26 shows the "former wintering range"
to include southern New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and
North Carolina, all of the Chesajx'ake Bay and moutlis of
major Virginia rivers.

(4) A map in Palmer's "Handlxxik of North American
Birds" (1976, p. 61) is not substantially different from Banko's
map. Palmer shows the "southern limits of former wintering"
range of the I nimjxter Swan as extending as far south as
North Carolina and Virginia.

(5) Frank Bellrose in his book on "Ducks, Geese and
Swans of North America" (1976, p. 90) wTote that the
Tnunjieter Swan "... wintered on Chesajieake Bay and
Currituck Sound (North Carolina], the lower Mississippi
River valley...." His map on page 89, also similar to diat of
Banko, shows die "probable former wintering area" to include
coastal sections of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland,
Delaware, and New Jersey, as well as virtually all of die
Chesajx'ake Bay.

The evidence presented here, especially the first-hand
observations of John Clayton and Joseph Martin's account, is
sufficient to affirm the historical occurrence of the Tnimjieter
Sw'an in Virginia. Its disappearance as a winter visitor in die
mid-Atlantic states over the last 100-150 years is lamentable;
over-hunting lias lieen suggested as a major cause. Perhaps
diis portion of die former winter range will be occupied again
when and if breeding populations are re-established in mid-
western or eastern North America.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am grateful to Winston Banko, Harold Burgess, Harry
Lumsden, William J. L Sladen, and Roger B. Clapp for their
comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript.

LITERATURE CITED

Adams, P. G. 1957. The real audior of William Byrd's
Natural History of Virginia. American Literature 28:211-220.

Adams, P. G. 1962. Travelers and Travel Liars 1660-1800.
University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

American Ornithologists' Union. 1957. Check-list of North
American Birds. 5th ed. American Ornithologists' Union,
Lord Baltimore Press, Bakimore, MD. 691 pp.

Banko, Winston E. 1960. The Trumpeter Swan. Its
History, Habits, and Population in die United States. Bureau
of Sport Fisheries <$c Wildlife, Washington, EXE. North
American Fauna 63. 214 pp.

RANISTERIA

NO 7, 1996

Bellrose, Frank C. 1976. EYicks, Geese and Swans of Norrh
America. Srackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA 543 pp.

Berkeley, Edmund, &. Dorothy S. Berkeley, eds. 1965. The
Reverend John Clayton. A Parson with a Scientific Mind.
I Iniversity Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Clayton, John. 1693. A Letter from Mr. John Clayton,
Rector of Crofton at Wakefield in Yorkshire to the Royal
Society, gi\ing a farther Account of the Soil of Virginia, and
Planting of Tobacco there, with the Draining of Swamps, <Scc.
As likewise a Description of the several Species of Birds
observed there by himself, with several Curious Remarks on
the Heads of Fowl, more particularly their Ears, compared
with those of the Mole, <Scc. Philosophical Transactions of
the Royal Society of London XVII (206): 917-998.

Ewan, Joseph, <Sc Nesta Ewan. 1970. John Banister and His
Natural History of Virginia 1673-1692. University of Illinois
Press, Urbana, IL. 485 pp.

Glover, Thomas. 1676. .An Account of Virginia, its
Scituation, Temperature, Productions, Inhabitants and their
manner of planting and ordering, Tobacco, (Set. Philo¬
sophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London XI
(126) June 20, 1676:623-636.

Homaday, William T. 1913. Our Vanishing Wild Life, its
Extermination and Preservation. New York Zoological
Scx'iety, New York, NY. 41 1 pp.

Lawson, John. 1709. A New Voyage to Carolina:
Containing Tire Exact [Ascription and Natural History of
That Country, Together with the Present State thereof. .And a
Journal Of a Thousand Miles, Travel'd thro' Several Nations
of Indians. Giving a particular Account of their Customs,
Manners, &x. London.

McAtee, W. L. 1955. North American bird records in the
"Philosophical Transactions," 1665-1800. Journal of the
Society for the Bibliography of Natural History 3(l):56-60.

McAtee, W. L. 1956a. 4 Tie birds in Lawson's "New Voyage
to Carolina," 1709-Last installment. Chat 20(2):23-28.

McAtee, W. L. 1956b. Birds of the "Nemgefundenes Eden,
1737." Raven 28(1, 2): 15.

Martin, Joseph. 1835. A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer
of Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Published by
Joseph Martin, Charlottesville, VA.

Murray, Joseph James. 1952. A check-list of the birds of
Virginia. Virginia Society of Ornithology.

Palmer, Ralph S. 1976. Handbook of North American
Birds. Vol. 2. Waterfowl (first part). Yale University Press,
New Haven and London. 521 pp.

Smith, John. 1608. A True Relation of such (Occurrences
and .Accidents of noare as hath hapned in Virginia since the
first Planting of that Co llony.... London. 88 pp.

Steams, Raymond P. 1970. Science in the British Colonies
of America. University of Illinois Press, Urbana, IL.

Strachey, William. 1610. lire historie of travaile into
Virginia Britannia; expressing the cosmographie and
comodities of the country, fogither with the manners and
customes of people. Gathered and observed as well by those
who went first thither as collected by William Strachey.
London. 203 pp.

Studley, Thomas. 1907. Tire Proceedings of the English
Colony in Virginia [in 1607]. P. 130 In Lyon G. Tyler (ed.),
Narratives of Early Virginia. Barnes & Noble, New York, NY.

Bcuiistena, Number 7, 1996
© 1996 by the Virginia Natural History Society

The Odonata of Fort A. P. Hill and Vicinity, Caroline County, Virginia

Steven M. Roble and Christopher S. Hohson

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage
1500 E. Main Street, Suite 312, Richmond, VA 23219

The Odonata fauna of Virginia is fairly diverse with
more than 180 sjtecies currently known. The most recent
summaries of this fauna are those of Carle (1979, 1982,
1991) for Anisoptera (dragonflies) and Roble (1994b) for
Zygoptera (damselflies). The extensive listing of all known
dragonfly records from Virginia that is provided by Carle
(1982) reveals that numerous counties in the state (e.g.,
.Amelia, Amherst, Caroline, King and Queen, King
George) have been virtually unsampled for Odonata.

In the fall of 1991, the Virginia Department of
Conservation and Recreation's Division of Natural
Heritage (DCR'DNH) was contracted by the U.S.
Department of Defense (Department of the Army) to
conduct a survey for rare animals, plants, and significant
natural communities on the Fort A. P. Hill Military
Reservation in Caroline County, Virginia. Subsequently,
DCR'DNH was contracted in 1994 by the state's
Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department to conduct
a similar survey of the Polecat Creek watershed in
Caroline County as part of a grant funded by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to
study the effects of increased development on the
watershed during the next decade.

.Although no attempt was made to conduct a
comprehensive survey of the fauna or flora of Fort A. P.
Hill, initial surveys of the base by DCR-DNH (hereafter
shortened to DNH) biologists revealed the presence of
numerous naturally acidic wetlands, and a large and
widespread population of the carpenter frog ( Rana
virgatipes Cope), a rare to uncommon species (Pague,
1991) in Virginia. These and subsequent surveys also
documented the presence of numerous rare plants
(Fleming <Sc Van Alstine, 1994), as well as other
uncommon amphibians and reptiles, including the lesser
siren (Siren intermedia LeConte), greater siren (S. lacertina
Linnaeus) and rainbow snake ( Farancia erytrogramma
[Beauvois]), at or near the northern limits of their

geographic ranges (Roble <Sc Hobson, 1994; Roble, 1995).

Tire fortuitous discovery on 17 June 1993 of
NannotJremis bella (Uhler), a dragonfly that had not been
seen in Virginia in more than a century (Roble <Sc
Stevenson, 1994), prompted us to sample the Odonata of
the base more intensively. The senior author maintained
records of all species that were observed or collected on
subsequent surveys that he conducted alone or with the
junior author. The latter maintained partial species lists
for the few surveys that lie conducted alone. Our
collective records form the primary data source for this
paper. We have supplemented the Fort A. P. Hill records
with data collected during the Polecat Creek surveys, as
well as very limited surveys of three ponds located
elsewhere in Caroline County.

Carle’s (1982) exhaustive survey of Virginia dragonfly
specimens confirmed the presence of only two species
(Aeshna umbrosa Walker and Gomphus exilis Selys) from
Caroline County, whereas several of the damselfly species
discussed below were previously reported from this county
by Roble (1994b), largely on the basis of records obtained
at Fort A. P. Hill.

STUDY AREAS AND METHODS

Caroline County encompasses 342,695 acres in
eastern Virginia approximately midway between
Richmond and Washington, D.C. The Fall Zone
separating the Coastal Plain and Piedmont physiographic
provinces lies in the western portion of the county. All
but three of our sampling sites fall within the Coastal
Plain. Two sites are in the Fall Zone and a third spans the
PiedmontTall Zone transition area.

Fort A. P. Hill Military Reservation occupies the
northeastern portion of Caroline County and covers
75,944 acres, or about 22% of the county (Fleming <Sc
Van .Alstine, 1994). Less than 100 acres at the east end of

BAN'ISTERIA

NO 7, 1996

Figure 1. Location of Odonata sampling sites on Fort A. P. Hill, Caroline County, Virginia.

ROBLE & HOBSON ODONATA OF FORT A P. HILL

the base lie in adjacent Essex County, but none of our
surveys were conducted in these areas. Route 301 bisects
rbe base into north and south portions. Prior to the
establishment of the base in 1942, the land was primarily-
used for agricultural and forestry purposes. Currently,
more than 80% of the base is forested. Elevations on Fort
A. P. Hill range from 20 to 250 feet (6 - 76 m), with a
number of moderately deep ravines occurring in the
northeastern portion of the base.

Tire majority of the wetlands that were surveyed for
Odonata on Fort A_ P. Hill consisted of acidic beaver
ponds. We made virtually no effort to survey any of the
man-made ponds or reservoirs on the base. We also
sampled numerous forested and some open seepage
habitats, as well as several small streams. Most of the
streams on the base have been impounded by beavers at
numerous locations or are of low gradient, and thus do
not support many lotic species. Mill Creek and its
primary tributary (Peumansend Creek) are the major lotic
habitats on the base. These are sand-bottomed streams
ranging from 2-5 m in width. Hie Rappahannock River
occurs within a few kilometers of the base to the east and
forms the northeastern boundary of Caroline County.
The Mattaponi River lies several kilometers west of the
base boundary.

Hie locations of sampling sites where Odonata were
documented on Fort A. P. Hill are identified in Figure 1.
Site numbers 1-50 that appear in the annotated species
accounts later in this paper refer to the locations plotted
on this map. The habitats associated with the various
collecting sites are as follows: ponds (sites 2-13, 15-20, 22-
25, 27-31, and 36-37), streams (sites 14, 16, 38, 42, 44,
47H8, and 50), seepage areas (sites 15, 22, 26, 33-35, 39,
41, 43, 45-46, and 49), man-made lakes (1 and 32),
swamps (44), and roads (21, 34, 40-41, and 43-44). Seven
of the sites were placed in two or more of the above
categories. Our access to the sites varied considerably
depending on military training schedules and safety
concerns related to the potential presence of unexploded
ordnance in some areas on the southern portion of the
base. While several sites were visited on multiple
occasions, many were surveyed only once. Unfortunately,
several of the finest wetlands on the base could not be
thoroughly sampled for Odonata because they were in
areas with very limited access.

Virtually all of our records of Odonata from Fort A. P.
Hill are based on observations or collections of adults.

Many of these records were obtained incidental to our
larger objective of surveying the base for rare animals.
Sampling for Odonata larvae was limited to surveys of
forest seepage habitats, including the headwaters of small
streams. Voucher specimens were obtained for most
species. Species documented only by sight records are
identified as such in the annotated accounts. Specimens
are deposited primarily in the collection of the National
Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C.); additional specimens have been or
will be deposited in the Virginia Museum of Natural
History (Martinsville) and the Horida State Collection of
Arthropods (Gainesville).

Odonata surveys by DNH zoologists at Fort A. P. Hill
spanned the period from 10 September 1992 to 17 July
1995. A dozen adult specimens collected by Philip H.
Stevenson on the former date constitute the extent of
Odonata sampling during that year. He also collected
about 15 adult and larval sjiecimens in the spring and
early summer months of 1993. We initiated a more
intensive survey of the Odonata fauna of the base
beginning in July 1993 and extending through November
of that year. Hie senior author continued this survey on a
more limited basis in 1994 and 1995, adding 20 species
to the confirmed list in the process.

Polecat Creek is a tributary of the Mattaponi River and
is located approximately 15-20 km southwest of Fort A. P.
Hill. Stevens Mill Run is a primary tributary of Polecat
Creek. Both of these streams originate in the Piedmont
and terminate in the Coastal Plain. Aquatic habitats vary
considerably widrin the Polecat Creek drainage and
provide for a diversity of Odonata species. In the Fall
Zone region of the watershed and areas further west,
benthic substrates in Polecat Creek and its tributaries are
of mixed composition. Areas of cobble and boulder
substrates are interspersed with gravel beds, clay banks,
and pockets of sand. East of the Fall Zone, substrates
become more uniform, consisting of sand bars and mucky
sand, with only scattered rocks. The floodplain east of the
Fall Zone is typically much broader, providing habitat for
species typically found in low gradient streams and
floodplain pools. While beaver impoundments are
common within the watershed, there are extended
stretches of lotic habitats with numerous riffles, runs and
deeper pooled sections. Funderburg (1974) described the
swamp habitat present near the U.S. Route 301 crossing
of Polecat Creek, approximately 1 km upstream from its

BANISTER1A

NO 7. 1996

mouth.

Surveys for Odonata in rhe Polecat Creek watershed
were conducted between 18 May and 4 October 1994 by
tbe junior author in conjunction with more
comprehensive surveys for rare animals. In addition to
sampling Polecat Creek near several bridge crossing sires,
adult Odonata that were encountered during continuous
stream surveys for mussels were noted. Several lenric
habitats in the watershed were also sampled. Tire senior
author collected two gomphid larvae in Stevens Mill Run
on 16 March 1995, which constitute our only Odonata
records for this stream. The following sites and their
corresponding numbers appear in the annotated species
accounts:

51. Stevens Mill Run at County Route 601, ca. 1 km NE
of Golansville (Piedmont/Fall Zone)

52. Polecat Creek upstream (west) of U.S. Route 1 (Fall
Zone)

53. Polecat Creek at County Route 652, ca. 2 km SE of
Golansville (Fall Zone)

54. Polecat Creek at County Route 601, 0.3 km SE of
Penola

55. Polecat Creek at powerline crossing, just downstream
of U.S. Route 301

56. Sphagnous seepage area in powerline right-of-way ca.
0.8 km SE of Coleman's Millpond (= Mill Run at
County Route 656).

57. Beaver ponds and sphagnous seepage area along
Polecat Creek at powerline right-of-way upstream
from County Route 601 crossing.

Three additional ponds in Caroline County were
surveyed only very briefly by the senior author, but each
was inhabited by at least one uncommon or state-rare
species of Odonata, and they are thus worthy of inclusion
in this report. Further sampling of these sites is desirable.

58. Beaver pond near headwaters of Downers Branch, ca.
1 .5 km NW of Paige

59. Pond along County Route 654, ca. 1.3 km SW of
Peatross

60. Pond along County Route 656, ca. 2.5 km SE of
Peatross

Adult specimens collected during our surveys were
identified using the following references: Carle (1982),

Caq>enter (1991), Dunkle (1989, 1990), Johnson 6c
Westfall (1970), Needham <Sc Heywood (1929), Needham
& Westfall (1955), Walker (1953, 1958), and Walker &
Corbet (1975). Tire few larvae that we collected were
identified using the keys of Huggins <Sc Brigham (1982)
and Needham 6c Westfall (1955). We also examined the
damselfly collection of the National Museum of Natural
History (USNM) for any records from Caroline County.

RESULTS

We documented 77 species of Odonata (25 damselflies
and 52 dragonflies) on Fort A. P. Hill. Seven of these
species were not vouchered and one of our sight
identifications is tentative. Both of the species reported
from Caroline County by Carle (1982) are present on the
base. Of the 76 confirmed species, 12 (15.8%) are
monitored by the Division of Natural Heritage as state-
rare species (Roble, 1996). This is proportionately much
less than the fraction of the state’s Odonata fauna (46.2%;
39.9% excluding the Gomphidae) that is currently
monitored by DNH. We also documented another 20
species on Fort A. P. Hill that are uncommon or locally
distributed in Virginia, and are included on tbe Natural
Heritage "Watch List" (Roble, in prep.). The documented
Odonata fauna of Fort A. P. Hill represents 42.3% of the
state’s fauna (excluding accidentals). The large families
Coenagrionidae and Libellulidae are fairly well repre¬
sented on the base, whereas the Gomphidae are not
(Table 1). The geographic location of the base (i.e.,
Coastal Plain) and its lack of suitable lotic habitats are
largely responsible for the depauperate gomphid fauna. A
total of 24 species was recorded in the Polecat Creek
watershed, including four (one state-rare and one watch
list species) that were not found at Fort A. P. Hill. Two
other species are represented in the USNM collection,
resulting in a total of 82 species confirmed for the county.

The extreme dates on which adult Odonata were
observed during our surveys were 18 April and 22
November. The seasonal distribution of all species is
presented in Table 2, which follows the format of Shiffer
6c White (1995). No data are available for 13 of the 32
quarters included in this table (these quarters are
underlined). Right date records that equal or exceed
those listed in Carle (1982) and Roble (1994b) for
Virginia dragonflies and damselflies, respectively, are
denoted by an asterisk in the last column of the table.

ROBLF. & HOBSON: ODONATA OF FORT A P HILL

I able 1. Sjxxies diversity of Odonara on Fort A.P. Hill
as compared to the Odonara fauna of Virginia.

FAMILY

FORT A.P.

HILL

VIRGINIA

PERCEN

Calopterygidae

28.6

Lest id ae

50.0

Coenagrionidae

48.6

Total Zygoptera

46.3

Petaluridae

100.0

Aeshnidae

50.0

Gomphidae

39“

15.4

Cordulegastridae

80.0

Corduliidae

33.3

Macromiinae

40.0

Cordulunae

31.6

Libellulidae

43b

58.1

Total Anisoptera

128

40.6

Total Odonata

182

42.3

‘Excludes one reported but unconfirmed species
^Excludes two accidental s^recies

Some of the early and late dates reported by Roble
(1994b) are based on our observations in Caroline
County. It should be noted that Carle’s (1982) survey of
available specimens to determine Virginia flight dates for
dragonflies was far more exhaustive than Roble’s (1994b)
survey of damselflies. Consequently, asterisked early or
late dates for damselflies in Table 2 should only be
regarded as the extreme published dates for Virginia.

An annotated list of the Odonata species recorded
from Caroline County follows. Tire format is similar to
that used by Cross (1955), except that we do not report
the total number of specimens obtained for most species.
Scientific names and authors follow Garrison (1991) with
the exceptions discussed by Donnelly &c Tennessen
(1994), Roble (1994b), and Tennessen (1994). As noted
previously, site numbers 1-50 are on Fort A. P. Hill and
refer to locations plotted in Figure 1. The locations of
sites 5 1430 were defined above. Collection or observation
records that extend the Virginia flight season of a species

beyond the dates reported by Carle (1982) and Roble
(1994b) are indicated by an asterisk or discussed in the
text. We have included previously unpublished distrib¬
utional records (particularly county records) for selected
uncommon or state-rare species based on DNH surveys
during the past six years.

ANNOTATED LIST OF ODONATA RECORDED
FROM CAROLINE COUNTY

Zygoptera

CALOPTE RYG I D.AE

Calopteryx dnnidiata Burmeister

Sites 38, 42, and 54. 18 May - 28 July. This species
was moderately common along a 100 m section of Mill
Creek at site 42, where 15-20 adults were observed by
SMR on 8 July 1994. A single male was seen by CSH
along Polecat Creek at site 54 on 18 May 1994. This
record was the basis for the early flight date listed in Roble
(1994b). DNF1 zoologist Dirk J. Stevenson subsequently
captured C. dimidiata on 7 May 1995 in Greensville
County. In addition to our records, the USNM has
specimens collected on 18 June 1980 at County Route
630 (= Beverly Run crossing), 1 mi (= 1.6 km) W of
Central Point in the extreme southeastern corner of
Caroline County.

Calopter yx maculata (Beauvo is)

Sites 3, 7, 15, 29-30, 38, 41-44, 50, 52, and 54. 18
May - 16 August. Common along small streams on Fort
A. P. Hill, including sluggish seepage headwaters as well as
faster flowing streams such as Mill Creek. Found at all
sites where the previous species occurred, but in greater
abundance (e.g., five times as many C. maculata as C.
dimidiata were observed at site 42). This species was also
common along Polecat Creek. Our earliest record
precedes the early flight date listed for Virginia in Roble
(1994b) by three days, but C. maculata was later found on
7 May 1995 in Greensville County with C. dimidiata (D. J.
Stevenson, pers. comm.).

BANISTERIA

NO 7, 1996

LESTIDAE

Lestes congener Hagen

Documenred only by an adult male that was collected
by CSI 1 at site 22 on 4 October 1 993.

Lestes disjunctus australis Walker

Sites 10, 11, 22, and 36. 25 April - 4 October. This
sixties is apparently less widespread on Fort A. P. Hill
than might be expected. Numerous fenerals were
observed by SMR at site 11 on 1 June 1994.

Lestes inaequalis Walsh

Sites 3, 4, 10, 23, 44, 54, and 59. 16 June - 1

September. Uncommon at a few acidic beaver ponds.
Maximum count was four adults observed at site 10. Our
late date exceeds that reported in Roble (1994b) by one
week, but a female was subsequently captured by Dirk J.
Stevenson on 13 September 1995 along the Blackwater
River straddling the Isle of Wight-Southampton county
line. This record and two males that Dirk collected in
Greensville County are additions to the county records
listed for L inaequalis in Roble (1994b).

Lestes rectangularis Say

Our only records for Fort A. P. Hill are of an adult
male that was collected by Philip H. Stevenson at site 17
on 10 September 1992, and an adult female collected by
CSH at site 3 on 17 August 1993. This species was also
found by CSH at several small ponds along Polecat Creek
(sites 55 and 57) on 11 August 1994. Presumably, L.
rectangularis is much more common in Caroline County
than our few records suggest, because it is the most
common and widespread member of the genus in
Virginia (Roble, 1994b).

Lestes mgilax Hagen

Recorded at 19 sites on Fort A. P. Hill; also sites 54,
59, and 60. 24 June - 4 October. This species inhabits
numerous acidic beaver ponds on the base, but is
otherwise uncommon in Virginia (Roble, 1994b).

Highest counts were 150+ adults at site 30 and 50+ adults
at sires 8, 29, 59, and 60. Dunkle (1990) reported that
this sjx^cies prefers acidic habitats.

COEN AG R 1 ON I DAF

Argia apicahs (Say)

Several individuals of this species were observed by
CSH along Polecat Creek at site 54 on 17 June 1994, but
no collections were made.

Argia bipunctulata (Hagen)

Sites 22, 26, 35, and 56. 8 July - 4 October. All of our
sites are oixm seepage habitats, which is typical of this
locally distributed species (Dunkle, 1990). About 20
adults were observed at sites 35 and 56. This species is
apparently most abundant at site 26 (probably hundreds
of adults), which was barely explored due to the high
potential for unexploded ordnance. As noted by Roble
(1994b), 4 October is a rather late flight date for this
species (two males collected at site 22). Recent surveys by
DNH botanist J. Christopher Ludwig have added
Greensville and Lee counties to the records listed for A.
bipunctulatain Roble (1994b).

Argia fumipennis violacea (Hagen)

Sites 4, 11, 1718, 27, 2900, 32, 37-38, and 52-54. 31
May - 4 October. Common along streams and near
outlets of beaver ponds.

Argia moesta (Hagen)

The USNM collection includes a male captured on 12
June 1978 at the County Route 730 (= Route 738?)
bridge crossing of the North Anna River at the southern
boundary of the county. The label associated with this
specimen apparently is in error because we cannot locate a
Route 730 bridge crossing on a map of the county and
suspect that the route number is actually 738. We did not
find this species during our surveys.

Argia tibialis (Rambur)

Sites 30, 38, 42, 44, and 54. 18 May* - 28 July.

ROBLE &. HOBSON: ODONATA OF FORT A.P. HILL

Found along streams and near outlets of beaver ponds
(site 30). .Adults seen by CSH along Polecat Creek (site
54) on 18 May extend the earliest date reported for this
species in Virginia (Donnelly, 1961; Roble, 1994b) by 12
days.

Chromagrion condition (Hagen)

Sites 20 and 31. 25 April - 29 April. This early species
is probably more common than our records indicate. At
least 17 mated pairs were observed by SMR at site 31 on
25 April 1994.

Enallagma aspersum (Hagen)

Documented only by an adult male that was collected
by CSH at site 3 on 17 August 1993.

Enallagma civile (Hagen)

Found only at site 28 on 27 September 1993, where it
was very common (50+ adults).

Enallagma daeckii (Calvert)

Sites 3, 18, 26, 30, 31, and 44. 31 May - 28 July.
Numerous tenerals and a few mature adults were found by
SMR at sites 3 and 18 on 31 May 1994. Highest count
was 250+ adults at site 30 on 8 July 1994.

Enallagma divagans Selys

A male was collected by CSH from emergent veg¬
etation along Polecat Creek at site 54 on 17 June 1994.

Enallagma dubium Root

Sites 4, 8, 18, 28, and 37. 24 June - 27 September.
This species is probably more common than our records
indicate. It is inconspicuous and appears to be active
primarily in mid to late afternoon. All of our
observations were made at acidic beaver ponds (see also
Roble, 1994b). Two mating pairs were among 11 adults
observed by SMR at site 4 on 13 September 1993. Only
1-5 adults were seen at the other sites, including several
that were captured during rainy or cool conditions on 27
September 1993.

Gloyd (195 1) reported that E. dubium was common at a
swampy pond near the Dismal Swamp in the City of
Suffolk (formerly Nansemond County). This is the only
other published record for this species in Virginia. Matta
(1978) did not find E. dubium in southeastern Virginia.

Enallagmo exsulans (Hagen)

Tire USNM has five specimens (including one pair)
that were taken with the Argia moesta specimen discussed
above. We did not observe this species during our
surveys, although it may occur along portions of Mill
Creek and Polecat Creek.

Enallagma geminatum Kellicott

Sites 2, 4, and 5. 18 August -13 September. Tins

species was found primarily on lily pads. At least ten
adults were seen at sites 4 and 5, whereas only a single
male was found at site 1.

Enallagma signatum (Hagen)

Sites 3-4, 7-8, 18, 30, and 37. 31 May - 27 September.
This species is probably more common than our records
indicate. Tire majority of our sightings were made in late
afternoon when this species is most active. Fewer than
ten individuals were observed at each site.

Enallagma traviatum Selys

Documented only by an adult male that was collected
by SMR at site 18 on 24 June 1994. This -specimen is
assignable to the nominate subspecies (Roble, 1994b).
Donnelly’s (1973) range map does not show any records
of this species from Virginia, but Roble (1994b) provided
several records.

Enallagma vesperum Calvert

Sites 3, 8, and 18. 31 May - 12 August (teneral male
collected on latter date). This crepuscular species is
probably more common than our records indicate. Only
a few individuals were observed by SMR at each site.
Most were found on lily pads.

BAN1STER1A

NO. 7, 1996

Ischnura hastata (Say)

Recorded at 16 sires on Fort A. P. Hill as well as sites
58 and 60. 25 April - 4 October. This species inhabits
numerous ponds on the base, although adults are some¬
times clustered in discrete areas around a particular pond.

Ischnura kcllicotti Williamson

Sites 3, 8, 18, 20, and 59. 31 May - 12 August. This
species was found on lily pads, often in the company of
the similarly marked Enallagma geminatum. At least ten
individuals were observed by SMR at all sites except site 3
during surveys of only a small fraction of the lily pads
present at each site.

Ischnura posita (Hagen)

Recorded at 25 sites on Fort A. P. Hill as well as seven
of the 10 off-base sites. 18 April - 4 October. This is the
most common and widespread damselfly species on Fort
A. P. Hill, and elsewhere in the county.

Ischnura ramburii (Selys)

Sites 18, 27-29, 36-37, and 54. 25 April - 27

September. Only a few individuals were observed at each
site.

Nehalennia integricollis Calvert

Sites 3-4, 11, 26, and 30. 1 June - 13 September.
Only single individuals were found at sites 3, 4, and 11
(two dates at latter). At least 200 adults were observed by
SMR at site 30 on 8 July 1994, making it the largest
population known in the state (Roble, 1994b). A large
population may also inhabit site 26, but this area was
barely explored because of' safety concerns. The only
other documented sites for N. intcgricollis in Virginia are
from Augusta County and the City of Suffolk (Gloyd,
1951; Roble, 1994b).

Telebasis byersi Westfall

lire population discovered by SMR on 17 July 1995 at
site 44 is the northernmost known locality within the
range of this species and one of only two documented

sites in Virginia (Roble <St Stevenson, 1996). Eleven
adults were seen during a very brief survey (<15 min),
suggesting that a thriving population inhabits this area.

Anisoptera

PETALURIDAE

Tachopteryx thnrcyi (Hagen)

Sites 15, 18, 30, and 49. 27 May - 28 July. All records
of this large, primitive dragonfly were obtained by SMR.
One female was collected and two others were
photographed. Only one or two individuals were
recorded at each site, including a tandem pair that was
observed very briefly at 1845 h on 8 July 1994 (site 15).
The pair quickly flew away and landed in the forest
canopy, where they reportedly mate (Dunkle, 1981). One
adult female at site 18 repeatedly chased patrolling males
of Ubellula bdia when they flew near her perch on the
trunk of a tall snag beside the pond’s edge. She made no
effort to pursue several males of L deplanata that landed
nearby. One adult landed briefly on the shoulder of SMR
at site 30. Dunkle (1981) reported similar “tame”
behavior in a Rorida population. No larvae or exuviae
were found despite numerous surveys of forested seepage
areas.

Carle (1982) recorded this species from 13 Virginia
counties. In an earlier paper (Carle, 1979) on the rare
dragonflies of Virginia, he indicated that only seven
extant populations of this species were known in the state
and classified T. thoreyi as a "locally distributed species."
Recent surveys by DNH zoologists have resulted' in the
discovery of several previously unknown populations of
this species at widely scattered sites in Virginia. We have
also been informed of other newly discovered populations
in the state (M. Stinson, pers. cornm.).

AESHN1DAE

Aesfina umbrosa Walker

Two males were observed by SMR on 17 July 1995
while patrolling over a short section of Mill Creek at site
44. Carle (1982) previously reported this species from
Caroline County; a female was collected at an unknown
locality within the county on 20 October 1973.

ROBLE & HOBSON ODONATA OF FORT A P HILL

Anax jutuus (Drury)

Recorded at 18 sires on Fort A. P. Hill; also site 59. 25
April - 27 September. This species is common and
widespread on the base.

Anax longipes Hagen

Sites 28 and 30. 8 July - 28 July*. This large,

unmistakable species is reported solely on the basis of
sight records obtained by SMR. Three to five males were
observed at site 30 on 28 July 1993; one male and one
female were seen there on 8 July 1994. A single male was
also observed at site 28 on the latter date. Carle (1982)
repotted A. longipes from three widely scattered counties
(Augusta, Charles City, and Lee) in Virginia, his latest
date being 17 July. In an earlier paper (Carle, 1979), he
included this primarily austral species in his list of the
state's rare dragonflies on the basis of only two known
extant populations. DNH zoologist Dirk J. Stevenson
(pers. comm.) observed nvo A. longipes on 30 May 1995 at
a man-made sandpit pond on the Fort Story Military
Reservation in the City of Virginia Beach.

Basiaeschna janata (Say)

Sites 4, 14, 16, and 47. 28 April - 29 April. This early
species is probably more common than our records
indicate. At least five adults were observed by SMR at
sites 14 and 47.

Boyeria vinosa (Say)

Sites 27 , 42, 53 (adults and larvae), and 54. 7 July - 4
October. This species is probably more common than
our records indicate.

Epiaeschna heros (Fabricius) •

Sites 14, 52, and 54. 29 April -12 August. This

species is reported solely on the basis of sight records.
Only one or two individuals were seen at each site. Our
early date equals that listed in Carle (1982) for Virginia,
although the species has been seen as early as 9 April
(1995) in Greensville County (D. J. Stevenson, pers.
comm.).

Gomphaesclma furcillata (Say)

Sites 4, 14, 16, and possibly 20. All records of this
species at Fort A. P. Flill were obtained on 29 April
during the Spring 1995 field trip of the Virginia
Herpetological Society. A male was netted at site 4 by
Michael D. Killian and a female was captured by Dirk J.
Stevenson along the road bordering site 16. Several
adults were also observed by SMR at sites 14 and 16; one
possible sighting was made at site 20. Carle (1982)
recorded this species from eight counties and cities in
Virginia. However, he listed only one known extant
population in the state in his paper (Carle, 1979) on rare
dragonflies. Recent surveys by DNH zoologists have
confirmed approximately ten additional populations in
eastern Virginia.

Nasiaeschna pentacantha (Rambur)

Documented only by an adult female that was collected
by SMR at site 3 on 31 May 1994. Carle (1982) recorded
this species from three counties and cities in southeastern
Virginia, his earliest flight date being 1 June.

GOMPHID.AE

Angov\pkus villosipes (Selys)

Sites 18 and 23. 31 May - 17 June. Only a few adults
were recorded at each site. One exuvia was also collected
at site 18. Carle (1982) recorded this species from only
six counties in Virginia, but indicated that it was more
common. We are aware of two other copnty records
based on recent DNH surveys. Former DNH zoologist
Kurt A. Buhlmann collected a male A. villosipes on 22 May
1991 in King George County. Another male was
captured by CSH on 15 May 1994 in New Kent County.
The latter record precedes the earliest Virginia flight date
listed in Carle (1982) by eight days.

Gomphus exilis Selys

Sites 28, 31, and 34. 25 April - 28 April. This early
species is probably more widespread on Fort A. P. Hill
than our records indicate. One adult female was
moderately infested with water mites. Carle (1982)

BAN1STERIA

NO 7, 1996

previously reported this species from Caroline County; a
male was collected on 10 June 1978 at the U.S. Route 1
crossing of the North Anna River.

Gornpkus lividus Selys

Sites 4, 14, 16, 47, and 48. 29 April - 9 May. This
early species is probably more widespread on Fort A. P.
Hill than our records indicate.

Hagenuis brevistylus Selys

Sites 42 and 52. ITree or four adult males were
observed by SMR on 7 July 1994 while patrolling a 100 m
section of Mill Creek at site 42; one voucher was
collected. A male was also netted and released by CSH at
sire 52 on 12 August 1994.

Progomphus obscurus (Rambur)

Sites 30, 38, 42, and 51 (larvae). 7 July - 28 July. Only
a few adults were recorded at the first three sites; two
larvae were collected at the latter site.

Stylurussp).

A male gomphid that was believed to be 5. laurae
(Williamson) was observed by SMR through binoculars
on 17 July 1995 while perched on a leaf of the lowermost
branch of an oak tree at site 41. Tire specimen evaded a
subsequent capture attempt. Carle (1982) reported S.
laurae from six counties in Virginia; the nearest records to
Fort Ac P. Hill are from Henrico and Ixmisa counties.
Tire DNH reference collection contains a male of this
species collected by Christopher Al Pague and Richard L.
Hoffman on 15 September 1991 in Lunenburg County,
which constitutes a new county record.

CORDULEGASTRIDAE

C ordulegaster bilineata (Carle)

This species was common on 25 April 1994 along the
road and in several seepage ravines at site 34. At least 10
males were observed by SMR on this date, although none
were seen in this same area one week earlier. This species

is probably more widespread on Fort Ac P. Hill.
Cordulegaster erronea Hagen

1 his species was documented only by larval collections
made at sites 33, 45, and 49. Carle (1982) recorded this
species from eight counties in Virginia, primarily in the
Blue Ridge region. No additional Virginia county records
appear in his (Carle, 1989) comprehensive range map for
this species. Carle (1979) listed C. erronea as "possibly
endangered" in Virginia because only two extant
populations were known in the state. In addition to our
records from Caroline County, we have collected larvae in
York County, which extends the state range of this species
considerably further south into the Coastal Plain region.
Recent collections obtained in southwestern Virginia
primarily by Frank L. Carle (pers. comm.), as well as by
DNH zoologists, reveal that this species is rather common,
but locally distributed, in that portion of the state.

Cordulegaster maculata Selys

Two specimens were collected and several other adults
were observed by SMR on 28-29 April 1995 along a small,
sand-bottomed stream (Catlett Creek) at site 16. This
species is probably more widespread on Fort A.. P. HilL

Cordulegaster obliqua (Say)

This species was documented only by the collection of
two larvae at site 46. Carle (1982) reported this species
from eight counties and cities in Virginia, and listed the
flight period as 21 May to 10 July. In his -earlier paper
(Carle, 1979) on the rare dragonflies of Virginia, he
indicated that eight extant populations of C. obliqua were
known in the state and classified it as a "locally distributed
species." We are aware of four other recent records for
this species in Virginia (Fairfax, Greensville, Washington,
and Wise counties) based on surveys by DNH biologists.
All but the former are new county records.

CORDULI1DAE (MACROMIINAE)

Didymops transversa (Say)

Sires 28, 31, 34, 36, 47 (and a nearby pond not

ROBLE & HOBSON: ODONATA OF FORT A P HILL

marked on map), and 48. 18 April - 9 May. Only a few
adults were recorded at each site. This early species is
probably more common and widespread than our records
indicate.

M acromia illinoiemis georgina (Selys)

Adult males were collected at the following locations:
along Campbell Road approximately midway between
sites 19 and 20 (n =1), site 40 (n = 2), and site 54 (teneral
male collected on 17 June). Sight records of M acromia
adults that are presumably assignable to this species were
made at sites 20 and 41-44. Collectively, our specimen
and observational records span the period from 17 June
to 17 July. Suitable breeding habitat for this species on
Fort A. P. Hill appears to be limited to free-flowing
sections of Mill Creek. Some of the individuals seen on
the base may have been strays from the nearby Mattaponi
or Rappahannock rivers.

Donnelly <Sc Tennessen (1994) recently synonymized
Macromia georgina and M. illinoiensis. Their study included
seven specimens from four counties in northeastern
Virginia (Piedmont region), as well as additional material
from six counties in western Virginia. .All of the samples
from northeastern Virginia were scored as intergrades.
These authors did not examine material from the Coastal
Plain region of Virginia and assumed that only georgina
occurs there (based on their range map). Carle (1982)
reported both forms (as species) from Charlotte, Craig,
Dxiisa and Nelson counties in Virginia, including one
syntopic site (Twittys Creek) in the former county. Orr
(1996) stated that the population at his study site in
eastern Maryland was comprised of intergrades. Speci¬
mens from sites in eastern Virginia, including those
collected at Fort A. P. Hill, should be evaluated further to
determine their taxonomic status.

CORDUTIIDAE (CORDULIINAE)

Epi theca cy no sura (Say)

Sites 4, 18, 20, 28-29, 31, 34, 36, 39, 42, 47, and 59.
18 April - 31 May. This early species is undoubtedly
much more common and widespread than our records
indicate. One adult male was heavily infested with water
mites.

Epitheca spinosa (Hagen)

Sites 29 and 59. 18 April - 25 April. Three males and
two females were collected by SMR at site 29 on 18 April
1994; no adults were observed at this site one week later.
A single male E. spinosa was collected by SMR among
numerous E. cynosura males on 25 April 1994 over the
road bordering site 59. Tennessen (1994) recently
described the larva of E. spinosa and reported that the
larval habitat is swamps, as opposed to boggy lakes for E.
canis, which is known in Virginia only from one site in
Highland County (Carle, 1982). Both of the sites where
E. spinosa was found in Caroline County are exemplary,
boggy ponds. No swamp habitat is present near either
site, suggesting that these ponds provide suitable breeding
habitat for E. spinosa.

This early spring species was recommended for state
threatened status (not formally designated as such to date)
by Carle (1991) because it was known only from two sites
in southeastern Virginia (City of Suffolk and
Southampton County). Carle (1979) had earlier classified
it as a "locally distributed species." Three collection sites
are listed by Carle (1982), who stated that E. spinosa is
probably more common in the state, being undercollected
because of its early flight season. The historical Virginia
locality (1951 record; specimen deposited in the Illinois
Natural History Survey collection) is also in Southampton
County, at the old U.S. Route 58 crossing of a cypress
swamp, approximately 16 mi (26 km) E of Emporia (R. L.
Hoffman, pers. comm.). The senior author recently
discovered three previously unidentified males of E.
spinosa in the USNM collection. All were collected on 12
April 1989 by W. E. Steiner along the Blackwater River 6
km S of Zuni (Isle of W ight County).

The only Virginia record plotted in Tennessen’s
(1994) recent range map for E. spinosa is from the City of
Suffolk. Apparently, he was not aware of earlier maps
(Carle, 1982, 1989, 1991) showing either one or two
other records in the state. With a total of six documented
sites, Virginia currently ranks third behind North
Carolina (13 county records plotted in Tennessen, 1994)
and New Jersey (four recent and five historical sites fide
Barber, 1995 and May, 1995) in terms of the number of
known localities per state for this infrequently collected
species.

BAN1STERIA

NO. 7. 1996

Helocordulia selysii (Hagen)

Two adult males were collected by SMR on 29 April
1995 at site 16. Other species found along this small,
sand-bottomed stream were Basiaeschna janata, Cordule-
gaster maculata, and Gomphus lividus. Carle (1982) recorded
this species from seven counties in eastern Virginia. He
(1979) classified H. selysii as a "locally distributed species"
and reported that only four extant populations were
known in the state. Former DNH zoologist C. A. Pague
collected a male of this species in Powhatan County on 24
April 1990, which constitutes a new county record.

Somatochlora filosa (Hagen)

One male was collected by CSH on 1 September 1994
along Polecat Creek at site 54. Gloyd (1951), Matta
(1978), and Carle (1982) reported this species only from
the cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk, and Southampton
County, all in extreme southeastern Virginia. The Polecat
Creek site is the northernmost documented locality for S.
filosa in the state. Recent collections by DNH zoologist D.
J. Stevenson are from the City of Virginia Beach and
along the Blackwater River on the Isle of Wight-South-
ampton county line. Tire species ranges north to New
Jersey.

Somatochlora linearis (Hagen)

This species is reported solely on the basis of sight
records. Two or three adult males were observed by SMR
on 13 September 1993 while patrolling at site 13. One of
these males was studied with binoculars while briefly
perched.

Somatochlora provocans Calvert

Sites 40 and 41. 7 July - 17 July*. All of the records
obtained by SMR were of adults feeding over dirt roads;
two males and two females were collected and several
others were observed. No breeding sites were
documented, lennessen (1975) identified the larval
habitat of this species as sphagnous seepage streams,
which are a rather common habitat on Fort A. P. Hill.
Carle (1979) classified S. ( nm’ocans as "rare" in Virginia and
reported that only one site was known in the state. Carle

(1982) indicated that the only Virginia record for this
species was based on a male that he collected on 22 June
1975 in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife
Refuge, City of Suffolk. He remarked that this is one of
the most difficult dragonflies to collect because it typically
flies at heights of 5-15 m. Accordingly, Paulson &
Dunkle (1995) have proposed the common name of
“Treetop Emerald” for this species.

Somatochlora tenebrosa (Say)

Site 40; possibly also 11, 29, and 57. 7 July (- 27
September?)- Two females were collected by SMR on 7
July 1994 while feeding along a dirt road (site 40) in the
company of S. provocans and M acromia illinoiensis georgina.
Sight records of Somatochlora adults that may refer to this
species were made at sites 11, 29, and 57 (ovipositing
female seen by CSH on 1 1 August 1994).

L1BELLUL1DAE

Celithemis elisa (Hagen)

Sites 1 1 and 18. 1 June - 13 September*. Only a few
individuals were noted at each site, including a male
collected at site 11 on the latter date. Carle (1982)
reported that the known Virginia flight period for this
species extended through 24 August.

Celithemis eponina (Drury)

Sites 4, 18, and 29. 8 July - 27 September*. Only a
few individuals were noted at each site. Our latest record
(three adults seen at site 29) extends the Virginia flight
period for this species six days beyond the date reported
by Carle (1982).

Celithemis fasciata Kirby

Sites 3-5, 18, 23-24, 30-31, and 42. 16 June - 13
September*. Maximum count of 50+ adults at site 30 on
8 July 1994; fewer than five adults were observed at six of
the eight sites. An adult male C. fasciata was
photographed at site 18 while being eaten by a female
Erythemis simplicicollis . Carle (1982) reported this species
from 11 counties and cities in Virginia, his latest record
being 6 August.

ROBLE &. HOBSON: ODONATA OF FORT A.P HILL

Celithemis martha Williamson

Sites 4-5, 18, 27-30, and 60. 8 July* - 27 September*.
Maximum counts of 50+ adults at site 30 on 8 July 1994
and 30+ adults at site 27 on 27 September 1993. One
male was collected from a spider web. Carle (1979)
classified C. martha as a "locally distributed species" in
Virginia, with only one known site in the state. This site
was a pond in Fairfax County in northern Virginia, where
he collected two males on 19 September 1978 (Carle,
1982). This record exceeded the latest flight date (7
September) listed for this species by Needham <Sc Westfall
(1955). Although our records significantly extend the
known Virginia flight period, Barber (1994) has recently
documented C. martha in New Jersey as late as 29
September. We observed 40-50 adults at three sires on 27
September 1993, suggesting that this species probably flies
into October on Fort A. P. Hill.

Carle (1982) stated that the Fairfax County record was
the southernmost known locality for C. martha.
Concurrently, Huggins <Sc Brigham (1982) included it in
their list of species known from the Carolinas. However,
White et al. (1980) did not mention C. martha in their
compilation of South Carolina records, and there are no
documented records of this species from North Carolina
(R. D. Cuyler, pers. comm.). Therefore, because the
record in Huggins <Sc Brigham (1982) is not substantiated
(D. G. Huggins, pers. comm.) and apparently erroneous,
we conclude that a male collected on 12 August 1993 by
SMR at the Route 656 Peatross pond (site 60) represents
the southernmost documented locality for C. martha.
This record extends the range of this species
approximately 125 km S from the Fairfax County site.
Other than the records discussed above, we are aware of
only one other site for C. martha in Virginia. On 27 July
1995, SMR discovered a small, isolated population of this
species in the Shenandoah Valley region of Augusta
County at a site that harbors numerous Coastal Plain
disjuncts among its flora and fauna. This is apparently
the most inland population known of this northeastern
Coastal Plain species. The site is approximately 150 km
W of the Peatross pond. Both of these sites are located
slightly below 38° N latitude.

Celithemis vem a Pritchard

Sites 11, 28, 30, and 31. 1 June - 28 July. Maximum

count of 80+ adults at site 30 on 8 July 1994; at least 20
adults were also observed at this site (and site 31) on 28
July of the preceding year. The population at site 30 is the
largest known in Virginia. One adult female was heavily
infested with water mites.

Carle (1979) included this primarily austral species in
his list of the state's rare dragonflies on the basis of only
one known population. Carle (1982) reported two sites
(both were recent) for C. vema in Virginia, both in the
Piedmont region (Charlotte and Cumberland Counties).
Our records from Fort A. P. Hill are the first for this
species from the Coastal Plain region of the state. We
have also collected C. vema in Augusta and Lee counties
in western Virginia, bringing to five the total number of
counties with confirmed records.

Carle (1982) indicated that this species is
undercollected due to its early flight season, which he
listed as 23 May - 18 June for Virginia. Our late date
exceeds that (26 July) listed for C. verna by Needham <Sc
Westfall (1955). However, Tennessen et al. (1995) and
Orr (1996) recently reported that this species has been
found as late as 1 August in Alabama and 18 August in
Maryland, respectively. Specimens of C. vema have also
been collected by SMR as late as 18 August at the Augusta
County, Virginia site.

Erythemis simplicicollis (Say)

Recorded at 22 sites on Fort Al. P. Hill; also sites 58-60.
1 June - 27 September. This species is very common and
widespread on the base.

Erythrodiplax minuscula (Rambur)

Sites 4, 8, 11, and 29. 12 August - 27 September*.
Maximum count of 5-10 adults at site 4; only one adult
male was found at sites 8 and 1 1. Our latest record (three
males collected at site 29) extends the Virginia flight
period for this species two days beyond the date reported
by Carle (1982). He listed six county and city records for
E. minuscula in Virginia, including adjacent Essex County.
Our records from Fort A P. Hill are the northernmost
documented sites for this species in the state.

Donnelly (1961) reported that E. minuscula was last
documented in die Washington, D.C. area in 1916. Orr
(1995a, b, 1996) did not record this species at his study
sites in eastern Maryland. Recent surveys by DNH

BANISTERIA

NO. 7, 1996

zoologists have shown that E. minuscula is fairly common
in southeastern Virginia. One of us (SMR) has also
collected this species at two sites in the western part of the
state (Augusta and Grayson counties).

Libellula auripennis Burmeisfer

Sites 4, 7, 11, 18, 30, 31, and 58. 1 June - 18 August*.
Maximum counts of 10+ adults at sites 30 and 31. Carle
(1982) reported this species from six counties and cities in
eastern Virginia and stated that it is not common in the
state. Our records extend the Virginia flight period for L
auripennis eight days beyond his latest date. Recent
surveys by DNH biologists have documented this species
at approximately six sites in Augusta, Sussex, and York
counties, and the City of Virginia Beach.

Libellula axilena Westwood

Sites 3-4, 6-7, 18, 29-30, and 59. 8 July - 17 August.
Only one or two adults were observed at five of the eight
sites; maximum count of 5-10 adults at site 6. Carle
(1979) included this primarily austral species in his list of
the state's rare dragonflies because only three extant
populations were known to him at that time. Carle
(1982) listed records from 10 counties and cities in
Virginia. Observations by DNH zoologists during the
past four years indicate that this species is fairly
widespread in the state, and is occasionally abundant.

Libellula cyanea Fabricius

Sites 7, 10-11, 18, 29-31, 41-42, and 59. 31 May - 16
August. This species is common and fairly widespread on
Fort A. P. Hill.

Libellula deplanata Rambur

Sites 1, 3H, 11, 14, 18, 20, 28-29, 31, 36, 39, 48, and
59. 18 April - 1 June. This early species is undoubtedly
more widespread on the base than our records indicate. It
was abundant at several ponds. Several dead adults were
found entangled in spider webs.

Sites 10-11, 18, 29-31, 35, and 59-60. 1 June - 27
September*. Maximum count of 10+ adults at site 35. A
female was observed by SMR on 12 August 1993 while
ovipositing in a shallow ditch bordering site 59. A male
hovered near the female for several minutes until she
apparently completed oviposirion. Ibis contrasts with
Carle's (1982) statement that males of this species differ
from other species of Libellula in this regard, and only
watch their ovipositing mates from a perch or dart toward
intruders.

Carle (1979) classified L flavida as a "locally distributed
species" in Virginia, with only two known extant
populations in the state. Carle (1982) reported this
species from 10 counties and cities in Virginia, his latest
date being 7 August. We are aware of three other recent
records for L flavida in Virginia (Craig, Greensville, and
Prince George counties) based on surveys by DNH
biologists. All are new county records.

Libellula incesta Hagen

Recorded at 26 sites on Fort A. P. Hill; also five of the
10 off-base sites. 24 June - 4 October. This is one of the
most common dragonflies on the base, and in the county.

Libellula luctuosa Burmeister

Sites 4, 17-18, 27-28, 30-31, 40, and 48- 9 May* - 27
September. Our early record precedes the earliest Virginia
flight date listed in Carle (1982) by one day. This species
is common and fairly widespread on Fort A. P. Hill.

Libellula lydia Drury1

Sites 2, 10-1 1, 18, 28-29, 31, 38, 44, and 48; also six of
the 10 off-base sites. 25 April - 27 September. This
species is common and widespread on Fort A. P. Hill, and
elsewhere in Caroline County.

Libellula pulchella Drury

This species was observed by CSH along Polecat Creek
at site 52 on 12 August 1994, but no collections were
made.

Libellula flavida Rambur

ROBLE & HOBSON: ODONATA OF FORT A P. HILL

Libellula semifasciata Burmeister

Sites 4, 11, 16, 20, 26, and 29-30. 29 April - 8 July.

1 his species is most common in the spring.

Libellula vibrans Fabricius

Sites 3-4, 6, 9-10, 41, 44, 52, and 55. 17 July - 18
August. Single individuals were seen at most sites. This
species is probably more common than our records
indicate.

Nannothemis bella (Uhler)

Sites 18 and 30. 31 May* - 28 July*. Roble <Sc

Stevenson (1994) re[>orted that the discovery of this
species at Fort A. P. Hill consfimted the first records of N.
bellei in Virginia since 1890. New data obtained by SMR
at these two sites since that paper appeared are: site 18 -
observed 4 males on 31 May 1994 and 7 adults (5 males,

2 females) on 24 June 1994; site 30 - observed 50+ adults
on 8 July 1994. Carle (1979) classified N. bella as a
"locally distributed species" in Virginia, with no known
extant populations in the state at that time.

Pachydiplax longipennis (Burmeister)

Recorded at 28 sites on Fort A. P. Hill; also six of the
10 off-base sites. 29 April - 4 October*. This is one of the
most common dragonflies on the base. Our latest records
(several adults observed on 4 October) extend the Virginia
flight period for this species six days beyond the date
reported by Carle (1982). On 11 August 1994, CSH
observed a fishing spider ( Dolomedes sp.) capture an
ovipositing female P. longipennis at site 55. On a
subsequent visit, he observed another fishing spider
carrying a dead P. longipennis

Pantala flavescens (Fabricius)

Sites 21 and 32. 8 July - 4 October. This species is
reported solely on the basis of sight records. It was
common in the parking lot and adjacent lawn area of the
range control office (site 21) at Fort A. P. Hill.

Perithemis tenera (Say)

Sites 3-4, 17-18, 28, and 30-31. 24 June - 27

September. This small species is probably more common
on Fort A. P. Hill than our records indicate.

Sympetrum ambiguum (Rambur)

SMR found 20-25 adults at site 11 on 13 September
1993, the only time that this southern species was
detected on the base. Carle (1982) recorded S. ambigwum
from only nine counties and cities in Virginia. Recent
surveys by DNH zoologists indicate that this species is
rather widespread in the Coastal Plain region of the state
(nine new county records). We also have records from
backwater pools along the Nottoway River straddling the
Brunswick-Dinwiddie county line in the southern
Piedmont.

Sympetrum vicinum (Hagen)

Recorded at 17 sites on Fort A. P. Hill; also site 60. 24
June - 22 November. This species is common and
widespread on the base. Our late date (two males
observed and a third collected by SMR) equals that
reported for Virginia by Carle (1982).

Tramea Carolina (Linnaeus)

Sites 4, 7-8, 11, 18, 20, 23, 27-28, and 30-31. 28 April
- 27 September. This species is common and widespread
on Fort A. P. Hill.

Tramea lacerata Hagen

This species is reported on the basis of a single sight
record. An adult was observed briefly by SMR at site 4 on
13 September 1993.

DISCUSSION

Most of our surveys at Fort A. P. Hill were conducted
in late summer and early fall. Rather limited sampling in
late spring and early summer resulted in our failure to
detect common, early-flying species at more sites than are
reported herein. We may have entirely missed a few early
species because of inadequate sampling during this
period. Although our surveys spanned portions of four
years, the overall effort directed toward Odonata was

BANISTERIA

NO. 7, 1996

roughly equivalent to a moderately intensive single year
survey.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the northeastern portion of
the base was not adequately surveyed. Also, because many
of our faunal surveys of Fort A. P. Hill were not
specifically directed at Odonata, it is very probable that
some species were not detected. We estimate that another
10-15 species of Odonata could have been documented
on the base with a more intensive survey. Furthermore,
we believe that Fort A. P. Hill, primarily because of the
presence of numerous oligotrophic, naturally acidic ponds
(an uncommon habitat in Virginia), supports one of the
most diverse and unique lentic Odonata faunas in
Virginia. Additional acidic ponds that occur on privately
owned lands in Caroline County may harbor similarly
diverse lentic faunas.

Orr (1996) recorded an impressive total of 105 species
of Odonata during a six-year study at and near the
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in eastern Maryland.
This site straddles the Piedmont-Coastal Plain
physiographic border and contains more significant lotic
habitats (e.g., Patuxent River) than are present at Fort A
P. Hill. Consequently, he found a number of species that
would not be expected at our study site. Cross (1955)
recorded 58 dragonfly species (reported as 48) on the
Savannah River Plant (= Savannah River Site) in South
Carolina during a three-year survey. This site includes the
Savannah River as well as five major stream systems;
consequently, a significant percent of the total species that
he documented were lotic forms. The Odonata fauna of
Fort A P. Hill contains a larger proportion of lentic
species by comparison.

Table 3 summarizes the species recorded at the six
ponds on Fort A P. Hill with the greatest diversity of
Odonata. Athough we did not attempt to document
breeding by every species listed in a particular column, we
believe it is likely that most, if not all, of the lentic species
bred at those ponds where they were recorded.
Furthermore, as noted in the table, we visited each of
these ponds only 2-6 times, and undoubtedly missed
other species that inhabited these areas. Tire subtotals at
the bottom of the table separate pond-breeding from
stream- and seepage-breeding species. This analysis reveals
that four of the ponds support a minimum of 25 s}>ecies.
Three of these ponds (sites 18, 29, and 30) were ranked
by DNH ecologists as being among the most exemplary
natural communities on Fort A. P. Hill on the basis of

their floristic diversity and composition (Fleming <Sc Van
Astine, 1994).

Two of these same poirds (Bettys Bottom and
Lonesome Gulch East) supixrrted the largest jrercentage of
uncommon and state-rare sjrecies of Odonata (Table 3),
which ranks them among the most significant Odonata
breeding habitats known in Virginia. Both ponds are fed
by numerous seepages, which may provide larval habitat
for Tachopte ryx thoreyi (adults were found at both ponds).
Athough the greatest number of species was documented
at the latter pond, we believe the former site is actually
more significant for at least three reasons. First, because
both of our visits to Bettys Bottom Pond were made in
July (versus six visits in different seasons to Lonesome
Gulch East) and were limited to two hours each, it is very
probable that numerous (possibly 10 or more) early- and
late-flying species were entirely missed during these
surveys. Also, this pond supports breeding populations of
five state-rare species of Odonata (versus three at
Lonesome Gulch East), which clearly ranks it as an
important site. Finally, Bettys Bottom Pond supports the
largest known populations in Virginia of the following
uncommon and state-rare species: Celithemis martha, C.
vema, Enallagma daecku, Lestes vigiLax, Nannothemis bella,
and Nehalennia integricollis. The Anax longipes population
at this pond may also rank among the largest in the state.
Further sampling of one of the Peatross ponds (site 59)
may reveal that it is also one of the most significant
breeding sites for Odonata in Virginia.

Carle (1979, 1991) published information on

dragonfly species that he believed to be rare or endangered
in Virginia. Of the 54 currently recognized species
included in his 1979 list that are actually confirmed from
Virginia, we documented 13 (24%) in Caroline County.
However, we only found one of the 15 species (i.e.,
Epitheca spinosa) treated in his 1991 paper. Only 4-5 other
species discussed in that paper are remotely possible in
this county.

The 82 species documented in Caroline County
represents 45 percent of the total Odonata fauna of
Virginia (approximately 182 breeding species). Ai even
greater proportion of the state's lentic fauna is represented
by our samples. Few studies are available from other sites,
counties or areas of Virginia that allow for comparison.
Donnelly (1961) recorded a total of 114 species (112 are
currently recognized) from the Washington, D. C. area,
which included adjacent counties in Maryland and

ROBLE & HOBSON- ODONATA OF FORT A P. HILL

Virginia. Many of these species inhabit the Potomac
River. Matta (1978) recorded a total of 61 species ( Tramea
onusta was a misidentification fide Carle, 1982) from three
counties and six cities in southeastern Virginia. After
excluding four of Marta’s (1978) secies because they are
primarily associated with coastal marshes, we found all but
four of the 56 remaining species that he reported. All of
these species, namely Amphiagrion sanctum (Burmeister),
Gomphaeschna antilope (Hagen), Epitheca princeps Hagen,
and Pantala hymenaea (Say), are likely to inhabit Caroline
County and may occur on Fort A. P. Hill.

Roback 6c Westfall’s (1967) study of lotic Odonata
included records from the North Anna River in eastern
Virginia. Their sampling stations ranged from the State
Route 208 bridge (which now spans the Lake Anna
Reservoir) to the river’s mouth (confluence with the
South Anna River). Although these authors identified
this area as falling only within Louisa and Spotsylvania
counties (they are on opposite sides of the river), the lower
half of this reach actually forms the Caroline-Hanover
county line. Of the 14 species re{>orted with certainty by
Roback 6c Westfall (1967) from the North Anna River,
eleven are reported herein front Caroline County and
another (Stylurus laurae ) was possibly seen at Fort A. P.
Hill. The two remaining species, Argta sedula Hagen and
Dromogomphus spinosus Selys, probably occur in Caroline
County and may inhabit Fort A. P. Hill.

Voshell 6c Simmons (1978) subsequently studied the
Odonata fauna of the North Anna River for two years
prior to and three years following impoundment. During
the pre-impoundment portion of the study, they found
four of the same species collected by Roback 6c Westfall
(1967). Two other species ( Leuconhtma frigida Hagen and
Nehalennia sp.) reported by Voshell 6c Simmons (1978)
from the river are not usually associated with lotic
habitats. The former is known elsewhere in Virginia only
from one male collected by. Frank L. Carle on 18 June
1978 in a boreal wetland in Highland County (Carle,
1982). This site is a more typical habitat for L. frigida.
The three species of Nehalennia that occur in Virginia
(Roble, 1994b) are typically found in lentic habitats,
particularly boggy {Kinds (Walker, 1953; Dunkle, 1990;
Carpenter, 1991; Orr, 1996). Voshell 6c Simmons
(1978) also reported an unidentified species of
Neurocordulia from the North Anna River. Based on the
records in Carle (1982), this was most likely N. obsoleta

(Say). Members of this genus are crepuscular and easily
missed if larval collections are not made. It is probable
that N. obsoleta occurs in Caroline County, and it may
inhabit Mill Creek on Fort A. P. Hill. Enallagma basulens
Calvert, a species that colonized the impoundment (=
Lake Anna) within two years of its formation, was nor
documented by us in Caroline County, but it
undoubtedly occurs there.

Several of the species found by Orr (1996) at the
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in eastern Maryland
may occur in Caroline County (possibly on Fort A. P.
Hill) despite our failure to document them. Species
included in this group that have not been discussed
previously are Stenogomphicrus rogersi (Gloyd), Nehalennia
gracilis Morse, and Stylurus plagiatus (Selys). The nearest
records of S. rogersi to our study area are from neighboring
Essex and Spotsylvania counties (Carle, 1982; Donnelly,
1994). This species inhabits small, spring-fed muddy
streams. Carle (1982) reported S. plagiatus from eight
counties and cities in Virginia, the nearest record being in
adjacent King William County. Orr (1996) also found
Aeshna mutata Hagen at one pond on his study site, which
is the only known Maryland locality. This lentic species is
rare throughout its range in the eastern United States
(Beatty 6c Beatty, 1969; Carle, 1989). It is known in
Virginia only from Alleghany, Augusta, Craig, and
Highland counties in the western part of the state (Carle,
1982, 1991; Hoffman, 1987). It is remotely possible that
A. mutata inhabits Bettys Bottom Pond (site 30) on Fort
A. P. Hill, but we were unable to gain access to this site
during the late spring and early summer flight season of
this species. In addition to Orr’s (1996) records, several
recent reports of A. mutata from Cape Cod, Massachusetts
(Carpenter, 1991; Nilcula 6c Sones, 1994) indicate that
this species is not restricted to inland locations.

Orr (1995b) recorded 49 species of Odonata (reported
as 48) along Nanjemoy and Beaverdam creeks in eastern
Maryland (Charles County), including both species of
Helocorduha. We found only H. selysii on Fort A. P. Hill,
but H. uhleri (Selys) is also possible elsewhere in the
county. Carle (1982) reported the latter species from 17
counties in Virginia, the nearest sites being in Hanover
and Louisa counties. Other lotic species that may occur
in Caroline County (possibly along Mill Creek on Fort A.
P. Hill) include Gomphus apomyius Donnelly, Hetaeuna
titia (Drury), and Somatochlora georgiana Walker. These

BANISTERIA

NO. 7, 1996

species are rare to uncommon in Virginia (Carle, 1991;
Roble, 1994b); they were not found by Orr (1995b).

Stevenson et al. (1995) re{)orted tbe uncommon
damselfly Ischnura prognata (Hagen) from widely scattered
sites in eastern Virginia, primarily in tbe southeastern
corner of the state. However, one of their records was
from a seepage swamp in Fairfax County in northeastern
Virginia. This species may occur on Fort A. P. Hill,
particularly in the swampy habitats near site 44, which we
did not survey thoroughly. Localized populations of the
damselfly Telebasis . byersi and the green treefrog, Hyla
cinerea (Schneider), were found in this area (Roble, 1994a;
Rohle <Sc Stevenson, 1996; also see species account for T.
byersi above).

Comprehensive data on the number of Odonata
species documented from each county and county-sized
city in Virginia are currently lacking. However, we
analyzed the records in Carle (1982) to determine the
number of dragonfly species known from each county or
city in the state as of that date. Our total of 53 species for
Caroline County exceeds the totals for all other counties,
only slightly surpassing Highland (52), Fairfax (51), and
Montgomery (50) counties. Each of these three counties
has been collected rather extensively. No other county or
city had more than 40 species listed in Carle (1982).

Comparative data are available for a number of areas in
the northeastern United States. Beatty <Sc Beatty (1971)
stated that the Odonata fauna of Pennsylvania was
perhaps the best known of any state at the time of their
report (many additional records have also been obtained
during the past quarter century [C. N. Shiffer, pers.
comm.]). However, only four counties had more than 80
species recorded, with one exceeding 100 species. The
latter (Centre County with 107 species as of 1971)
contains Ten Acre Pond, a well-known Odonata
collecting site where 74 species have been documented
during numerous surveys spanning the past four decades
(Shiffer & White, 1995). Donnelly (1992) reported that
approximately 100 species of Odonata were known from
three counties in New York; no other county total
exceeded 80 species. The southernmost two counties in
New Jersey have been surveyed intensively for Odonata in
recent years. Barber (1994) found 103 species in
Cumberland County, and 90 species are known from
neighboring Cape May County (Soltesz, 1991; additional
sj>ecies provided by K. Soltesz, pers. comm.). A total of 97
si>ecies was recorded on Cape Cod (Barnstable County),

Massachusetts during extensive surveys by Gibbs <Sr Gibbs
(1954) and Carj>enter (1991). Tire recent study of Orr
(1996), which documented 105 species at several nearby
sites between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. in eastern
Maryland, was discussed previously.

1 able 4 summarizes the degree of similarity between
the Odonata fauna of Caroline County and those
reported for other selected areas in the eastern United
States. Orr’s (1996) study area in eastern Maryland has
the most similar fauna (highest percent similarity). His
surveys yielded all but four of the species known from
Caroline County (i.e., Calopteryx dimidiata, Enallagma
dubium, Erythrodiplax minuscula, and Telebasis byersi ). Of
the Virginia sites included in this table, the fauna of
Highland County is the least similar to that of Caroline
County Glased on Anisoptera only). lliis is not
surprising given the fact that the former includes many
boreal (northern) and montane species, whereas the latter
has a preponderance of austral (southern) and Coastal
Plain species.

The composition of the Odonata fauna of Caroline
County is varied, and includes some species with boreal
and austral affinities, as well as numerous wide-ranging
eastern North American species, several transcontinental
species, and one nearly cosmopolitan species ( Pantala
flavescens). The overall trend is decidedly biased toward
austral rather than boreal species. Species (n = 34, or
41.5% of the county fauna) that are broadly distributed in
the eastern United States (the ranges of some extend into
southern Canada) include: Argia apicalis, A. fumipennis, A.
tibialis, Basiaeschna janata, Boyeria vinosa, C alopteryx
macula ta, Cell therms elisa, C- eponina, Cordulegaster macula to,
C. obliqua, Didymops transversa, Enallagma ' dwagans, E.
exsidans, E. gemination, E. signatum, E. vesperum, Epitheca
cynosura, Gomphaeschna furcillata, Gomphus lividus, Hagenius
brevistylus, Ischnura posita, Lestes inaequalis, L rectangularis,
L vigilax, Libelltila cyanea, L. luctuosa, L semifasciata,
M acromia illinoiensis, Nasiaeschna pentacantha, Perithemis
tenera, Somatochlora linearis, S. tenebrosa, Sympetrum vicinum,
and Tramea Carolina. Species (n = 9, or 11.0%) that have
essentially transcontintental distributions (includes
“American” species of Beatty <Sc Beatty, 1971) include
Anax junius, Argia moesta, Enallagnui civile, Erythemis
simplicicollis, Ischnura hastata, Pachydiplax longipennis,
Libellula lydia, L. pulchellaf ind Tramea lacerata

The remaining species have predominantly northern

ROBLE & HOBSON: ODONATA OF FORT A P. HILL

or predominantly southern distributions. Tire following
species (n = 8, or 9.8%) fall into the former group: A eshna
umbrosa, Arigomplvis villas ipes, Celithemis martha
(northeastern), Ckromagrion condition, Enallagma aspersum,
Gomphus exilis, Lestes congener, and Nannothemis be 11a.
Beatty & Beatty: (1971) classified A. umbrosa and L
congener as TranscontmentahNorthern species. Many
more of the species documented in Caroline County have
predominantly austral distributions. These species (n =
29, or 35.4%) are Aiuu longipes, Argia bipunctulata,
C alopteryx dimidiata, Celithemis fasciata, C. verna,
Cordulegaster bilineata, C- erronea, Enallagma daeckii, E.
dubium, E. traviatum, Epiaeschna heros, Epitheca spinosa,
Erythrodiplax minuscula, Helocordulia selysii, Ischnura
kellicotti, I. ramburii, Elbe Hula auripennis, L. axilena, L.
deplanata, L. flavida, L. incesta, L. vi brans, Nehalennia
integricollis, Progomplvts obscurus, Somatochlora filosa, 5.
provocans, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tachopteryx thoreyi, and
Telebasis byersi. Lestes disjunctus australis also has a
predominantly southern distribution, the nominate
subspecies being the more northern form. Our surveys
have established new range limits for two of the above
species, including one northern species (Celithemis martha )
and one southern species (Tele b asis Iryersi).

Interest in the need to preserve global biodiversity has
increased significantly in the past decade, with particular
concern expressed for tropical habitats (Wilson, 1992).
One of the key challenges associated with conducting
biological surveys in the tropics is the need to estimate
total species richness from short-term, intensive sampling.
Coddington et al. (1991) and Colwell Sc Coddington
(1994) discuss a variety of methods that can be employed
to estimate total species richness from available data. One
of these techniques involves the preparation of "species
accumulation curves," in which the cumulative number of
species recorded from a site or area is plotted as a function
of the sampling effort. Such curves are generally steep
during the early phases of sampling when many species
are documented quickly, but then gradually level off as
fewer additional species are found with more sampling
effort. Theoretically, a point is reached when no amount
of additional sampling results in the documentation of
more species, because the entire species assemblage has, in
fact, already been documented. Louton et al. (1996)
prepared a species accumulation curve for the Odonata
fauna of a site (primarily tropical lowland forest) in Peru,

using the number of specimens collected per day as their
measure of collecting effort. This is the only species
accumulation curve for Odonata that we have seen in the
literature. Their graph shows a steady increase in the
documented number of new members of the local fauna
through about day 40, then begins to level off gradually
during the remaining 26 sampling days.

We subjected our records from Fort A. P. Hill to a
similar analysis in an attempt to determine if our earlier
prediction of 10-15 additional species was reasonable.
This estimate was based on our knowledge of the
distribution and habitat requirements of potential but
undocumented species (some were discussed above), and
the fact that undescribed taxa were highly unlikely to be
present on the base (an unsafe assumption in tropical
habitats). The data used to prepare our graph (Figure 2)
differ from those of Louton et al. (1996) in the following
important respects: (1) because our data are a composite
of specimen and sight records, and the total number of
individuals observed or collected was not recorded for
every' species (particularly common ones), we used the
number of species (not individuals) recorded per survey
site on a given day as our measure of sampling effort; (2)
the x-axis of our graph represents the number of discrete
surveys (we often visited several sites per day) that we
conducted, as opposed to the number of collecting days in
Louton et al. (1996); and (3) data from the few surveys
conducted prior to July 1993 were pooled on a daily basis,
because few specimens were collected and information on
sight records was fragmentary or lacking. We only
included records of adult Odonata in our analysis, thereby
eliminating two species of Cordulegaster that were
documented by larval collections. We lumped all -surveys
conducted on 1 November 1993 because adult Odonata
were not seen on the base that day (survey number 33).
We readily acknowledge that a number of factors,
including search time (we did not use time-constrained
searches), time of day, weather, and partial rather than
complete access to a few sites (due to safety concerns), are
partly responsible for variable survey results.

The graph in Figure 2 follows the predicted curve
illustrated in Colwell <Sr Coddington (1994) through
survey 34, which was the last survey of 1993. This
portion of the graph clearly shows that we had thoroughly
sampled the late summer and fall Odonata fauna of Fort
A-P. Hill. Surveys by SMR during 1994 (numbers 35-58;
latest survey on 8 July) and 1995 (numbers 59-70; latest

BANISTERIA

NO. 7, 1996

survey on 17 July) primarily added spring and early
summer species of Odonata that were missed in 1993 due
to inadequate sampling prior to July of that year. Com
sidering only damselflies, 19 of the 25 species (76%) that
were documented on Fort A. P. Hill were found during
the first 20 surveys. Only four additional species were re-
corded during the next 20 surveys, and the last two species
were found during the final 30 surveys (including Telebasis
byersi on the last survey). Tire graph reveals that half of the
documented Odonata fauna of the base was found during
the first seven surveys (=10% of total surveys). Tire
trajectory of the curve appears to support our earlier
prediction that 1045 additional species of Odonata are
likely to inhabit Fort A. P. Hill, and that a figure
approaching Orr’s (1996) total of 105 species is remote.

As noted in the opening paragraph of this paper, the
Odonata faunas of many counties in Virginia are poorly
known. A review of the records in Carle (1982) reveals
that only one of the most common dragonflies in the state
(i.e., Ubellula lydia) has been recorded from at least half of
the counties and large cities of Virginia. Tire fortuitous
opportunities that allowed us to sample the fauna of
selected portions of Caroline County at a moderately
intensive level, have revealed that the Odonata fauna of
this area of the state is very’ rich in lentic species, and
includes numerous state-rare, uncommon, or locally
distributed species. New range limits were also established
for two species in the process. We encourage other
naturalists to investigate the local fauna of their area
because much remains to be learned about the
distribution and biology of Odonata in the
Commonwealth.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A preliminary version of this paper based on data
collected through 1993 was. presented at the first meeting
of the Virginia Natural History Society held in
conjunction with the Virginia Academy of Science.

Our surveys at Fort A P. Hill and Polecat Creek were
funded by contracts between the U.S. Department of
Defense (Department of the .Army) and the Virginia
Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of
Natural Heritage (DCR-DNH), and the Chesapeake Bay
Local Assistance Department (CB1A.D) and DCR-DNH,
respectively. Rinding for the Fort A. P. Hill surveys was
spawned by a cooperative agreement signed in December

of 1988 between the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
and lire Namre Conservancy, which was designed to
maintain biological diversity on DOD installations
nationwide. Funding for the Polecat Creek contract was
provided by the Virginia Coastal Resources Management
Program at the Department of Environmental Quality
through Grant #NA57OZ0561 of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of
Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, under the
Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended. The
views expressed in this paper are solely those of the
authors and do not necessarily reflea the views of NOAA
or any of its subagencies, the Department of Defense
(Department of the Army), or the LFS. government.

We thank the various training area schedulers, range
control officers and escorts, and natural resource
personnel at Fort A. P. Hill for facilitating our surveys on
the base and ensuring our safety in the process. We
thank Jean N. 1 ingler of CBLAD for logistical support
associated with the Polecat Creek surveys, and the various
private landowners in the watershed who granted access to
their properties.

DCR'DNH botanists and ecologists who directed us to
significant wetlands on Fort A. P. Hill were Gary P.
Reming, J. Christopher Ludwig, and Nancy E. Van
Alstine. Tire field efforts of DCR-DNH zoologists Philip
H. Stevenson and Dirk J. Stevenson are greatly
appreciated. Dirk generously permitted us to include
several of his unpublished records of Odonata from other
sites in Virginia in this paper. He also provided helpful
comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Other
current or former DCR-DNH biologists who contributed
one or more records are Kurt A. Buhlmannr Kennedy IT.
Clark, J. Christopher Ludwig, and Christopher A. Pague.
Kurt also identified several of the Cordulegaster nymphs,
one of which he deposited in the University of Georgia
Entomological Collection. Kenneth J. Tennessen verified
our identification of Epitheca spinosa.

The senior author would like to thank Dr. Oliver S.
Hint, Jr. and Ms. Nancy E. Adams of the National
Museum of Natural History for the many courtesies they
extended to him during visits to examine the Odonata
collection in their care. He also expresses thanks to
Robert D. Barber, Jerry A. Louton, and Richard L. Orr
for providing copies of unpublished manuscripts or
reports. Finally, the senior author would like to thank his
family for graciously allowing him to devote numerous

ROBLE & HOBSON: ODONATA OF FORT A P HILL

evening and weekend hours toward the tasks of compiling
records, analyzing data, and preparing the manuscript.

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tological Society 10: 73-76.

Garrison, R. W. 1991. A synonymic list of the New
World Odonata. Argia 3(2): 1-30.

Gibbs, R. H., Jr. 6c S. P. Gibbs. 1954. The (Odonata of
Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Journal of the New York
Entomological Society 62: 167-184.

Gloyd, L. K. 1951. Records of some Virginia Odonata.
Entomological News 62: 109-114.

Hoffman, R. L. 1987. Local sites of special concern in
Virginia. Virginia Journal of Science 38: 399-408.

Huggins, D. G., 6c W. U. Brigham. 1982. (Odonata. Pp.
4.1-4.100 InA. R. Brigham, W. U. Brigham, <Sc A. Gnilka
(eds.), Aquatic Insects and Oligochaetes of North and
South Carolina. Midwest Aquatic Enterprises, Mahomet,
Illinois.

Johnson, C., 6c M. J. Westfall, Jr. 1970. Diagnostic keys
and notes on the damselflies (Zygoptera) of Horida.
Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Series
15: 45-89.

Louton, J. A., R. W. Garrison, 6c O. S. Flint. 1996 (in
press). The Odonata of Parque Nacional Manu, Madre de
Dios, Peru; natural history, species richness and
comparisons with other Peruvian sites. Pp. 421-439 In
Wilson, D. E., 6c A. Sandoval (eds.), La Biodiversidad del
Sureste del Peru: Manu (Biodiversity of Southeastern
Peru). Editorial Horizonte, Lima, Peru.

Matta, J. F. 1978. An annotated list of the Odonata of

southeastern Virginia. Virginia Journal of Science 29:
180-182.

May, M. L. 1995. Tire subgenus Tetmgoneinia (Aniso-
ptera: Corduliidae: Epithfca) in New Jersey. Bulletin of
American Odonafology 2: 63-74.

Needham, J. G., 6c H. B. Heywood. 1929. A Handbook
of the Dragonflies of North America. Charles C. Thomas,
Springfield, Illinois and Baltimore, Maryland. 378 pp.

Needham, J. G., 6c M. J. Westfall, Jr. 1955. A Manual
of the Dragonflies of North America (Anisoptera),
including the Greater Antilles and the Provinces of the
Mexican Border. University of California Press, Berkeley.
615 pp.

Nikula, B., 6c J. Sones. 1994. Highlights: Spring/early
summer 1994. Ode News 1(2): 1-3.

Orr, R. L. 1995a. Odonata of Plummers Island. Argia
7(1): 6-10.

Orr, R. L. 1995b. Great blue herons, dwarf wedge
mussels, and gray petaltails. Argia 7(3): 19-21.

Orr, R. L. 1996. The dragonflies and damselflies of
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and vicinity. Unpub¬
lished report to Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. 54
pp. (Abridged version to be published in the Bulletin of
American Odonatology)

Pague, C. A. 1991. Carpenter frog, Rarui virgatipes Cope.
Pp. 426-427 In K. Terwilliger (coord.), Virginia's
Endangered Species. McDonald and Woodward
Publishing Company, Blacksburg, Virginia.

Paulson, D. R., 6c S. W. Dunkle. 1995. Proposed
English names for the Odonata of North America.
Unpublished manuscript. 4 pp.

Roback, S. S., 6c M. J. Westfall, Jr. 1967. New records of
Odonata nymphs from the United States and Canada
with water quality data. Transactions of the American
Entomological Society 93: 101-124.

Roble, S. M. 1994a. Field notes: Hyla cinerea (Green

ROBLF. <5* HOBSON ODONATA OF FORT A P HILL

treefrog). Catesbeiana 14: 40.

Roblc, S. M. 1994b. A preliminary checklist of rhe
damselflies of Virginia, with notes on distribution and
seasonality (Odonata: Zygoptera). Bamsteria 4: 3-23.

Roble, S. M. 1995. Geographic distribution: Siren
intermedia intermedia (Easrern lesser siren). Herj>etological
Review 26: 150-151.

Roble, S. M. 1996. Natural Heritage Resources of
Virginia: Rare Animal Species. Natural Heritage
Technical Report 96-11. Virginia Department of
Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural
Heritage, Richmond. 23 pp. plus appendices.

Roble, S. M., & C. S. Hobson. 1994. Field notes:
Paranoia erytrogramma (Rainbow' snake). Catesbeiana 14:

15-16.

Roble, S. M., 6c D. J. Stevenson. 1996. First records of
Telebasis byersi from Virginia, including a new northern
range limit. Argia 8(1): 13-14.

Roble, S. M., 6c P. H. Stevenson. 1994. Rediscovery of
the dragonfly Nannothemis bella Uhler in Virginia
(Odonata: Fibellulidae). Banisteria 3: 27-28.

Shiffer, C. N., 6c H. B. White. 1995. Four decades of
stability and change in the Odonata populations at Ten
Acre Pond in central Pennsylvania. Bulletin of American
Odonatology 3: 31-41.

Soltesz, K. 1991. A survey of the damselflies and
dragonflies of Cape May County, New Jersey. Cape May
Bird Observatory, New Jersey Audubon Society, Cape
May Point, New Jersey. 54 pp.

Stevenson, D. J., S. M. Roble, 6c C. S. Hobson. 1995.

New' records of the damselfly Ischnura prognata in Virginia.
Banisteria 6: 26-27.

Tennessen, K. J. 1975. Description of rhe nymph of
Somatochlora provocans Calvert (Odonata: Corduliidae).
The Horida Entomologist 58: 105-1 10.

Tennessen, K. J. 1994. Description of the nymph of
Epitheca ( Tetragoneuria ) spinosa (Hagen) (Odonata:
Corduliidae). Bulletin of American Odonatology 2: 15-
19.

Tennessen, K. J., J. D. Harper, 6c R. S. Krotzer. 1995.
The distribution of Odonata in Alabama. Bulletin of
American Odonatology 3: 49-74.

Voshell, J. R., Jr., 6c G. M. Simmons, Jr. 1978. Tire
Odonata of a new reservoir in the southeastern United
States. Odonatologica 7: 67-76.

Walker, E. M. 1953. The Odonata of Canada and
Alaska. Volume One. University of Toronto Press,
Toronto. 292 pp.

Walker, E. M. 1958. The Odonata of Canada and
Alaska. Volume Two. University of Toronto Press,
Toronto. 318 pp.

Walker, E. M., 6c P. S. Corbet. 1975. The Odonata of
Canada and Alaska. Volume Three. University of
Toronto Press, Toronto. 308 pp.

White, T. R., K. J. Tennessen, R. C. Fox, 6c P. H.
Carlson. 1980. The aquatic insects of South Carolina.
Part I: Anisoptera (Odonata). South Carolina
Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 632: 1-153.

Wilson, E. O. 1992. The Diversity of Life. The Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. 424 pp.

Cumulative Number of Species Species Per Survey

BANISTER1A

NO 7. 1996

O Li
^ 3

O <l>

co -Q

• ■ M

• mmm

*-*

Figure 2. Species accumulation curve for Odonata at Fort A. P. Hill, Caroline County, Virginia.

Table 2. Seasonal distribution of Odonata at Fort A. P. Hill and vicinity, Caroline County, Virgini

ROBLE 6l HOBSON: ODONATA OF FORT A P HILL

Early and Late Flight Dates

* = Extreme date for Virginia*3

18 May -28 July

1 8 May - 1 6 August

4 October

25 April - 4 October

16 June - 1 September

1 1 August - 1 0 September

24 June - 4 October

17 June

8 July - 4 October*

3 1 May - 4 October*

18 May* - 28 July

25 April* - 29 April

17 August

27 September

31 May* - 28 July

17 June

24 June* - 27 September*

1 8 August - 1 3 September

3 1 May - 27 September*

24 June

31 May - 12 August*

25 April - 4 October

31 May* - 12 August

1 8 April - 4 October

25 April* - 27 September

1 June* - 1 3 September

17 July*

Nov. .

<N|

• — i

Oct.

col

Sept.

col

XX X

X X

August

XXX

a
* — >

<N|

X X

X XX

X X

XX X

X X

X XX

X X

XX X

X X

June

<N|

X X

May

1234

X X

X '

April

1234

Month

Species Quarter*

Calopteryx dimidiata

C. maculata

Lestes congener

L. disjunctus australis

L. inaequalis

L. rectangularis

L. vigilax

Argia apicalis

A. bipunctulata

A.fumlpennis violacea

A. tibialis

Chromagrion conditum

Enallagma aspersum

E. civile

E. daeckii

E. divagans

E. dubium

E. geminatum

E. signatum

E. tr avia turn

E. vesperum

Ischnura hastata
/. kellicotti
/. posita
/. ramburii

Nehalennia integricollis

Telebasis byersi

Table 2 (continued).

BAN1STERIA

SO 7. 1066

Table 2 (continued).

ROBLE 6t HOBSON ODONA1A OF FORI A F HILL

Early and Late Flight Dates

* = Extreme date for Virginiab

1 June - 13 September*

8 July - 27 September*

16 June - 13 September*

8 July* - 27 September*

1 June - 28 July

1 June - 27 September

12 August - 27 September*

1 June - 18 August*

8 July - 1 7 August

31 May - 16 August

18 April - 1 June

1 June - 27 September*

24 June - 4 October

9 May* - 27 September

25 April - 27 September

12 August

29 April - 8 July

17 July - 18 August

31 May* -28 July*

29 April - 4 October*

8 July - 4 October

24 June - 27 September

13 September

24 June - 22 November*

28 April - 27 September

13 September

Nov.

''H

<N|

’—A

Oct.

<N(

X X

Sept.

CD*

X X

August

XXX

X X

XXX

*— i

CNl

XX X

X X

XX X

X X

XX X

X X

XX X

X X

XX X

X X

XX X

June

X X

XX X

X X

XX X

May

1234

XXX

X X

April

1234

Month

Species Quarter*

Celithemis elisa

C. eponina

C. fasciata

C. mart ha

C. vema

Erythemis simplicicollis
Erythrodiplax mirtuscula

Libellula auripennis

L axilena

L. cyanea

L deplanata

L Jlavida

L Incesta

L luctuosa

L. lydia

L pulchella

L. semifasciata

L. vibrans

Nannothemts bella

Pachydiplax longipennis

Pantala flavescens

Perithemis tenera

Sympetrum ambiguum

S. vicinum

Tramea Carolina

T. lacerata

Quarters of the month: 1st to 8th (1), 9th to 15th (2), 16th to 23rd (3), and 24th to the end of the month (4); no data for underlined quarters.
Exceeds or equals early or late date reported by Carle (1982) or Roble (1 994b); see species accounts for more details.

BANISTERLA

NO. 7, 1996

TABLE 3. Species recorded at the six ponds on Fort A. P. Hill which contained the highest documented species
diversity of Odonata. Collection or sight records at a given pond do not necessarily confirm breeding at that site.

POND NAME AND MAI5 LOCATION

Bcttys

Hickory

Jordan

Lonesome

Smoots

SPECIES RECORDED

Bottom

Fork

Crossing

Lodge

Gulch East

North

(30)

(31)

(4)

01)

(18)

(29)

ZYGOPEERA

Calopteryx macutata

Lestes disjunctus australis

Lestes inaequatis

Lestes vigilax

Argia fumipennis violacea

Argia tibialis

Chromagrion conditum

“

Enallagma daeckii

Enallagma dubium

Enallagma geminatum

Enallagma signatum

Enallagma traviatum

•

Enallagma vesperum

Ischnura hastata

hchnura kelUcotti

Ischnura posita

Ischnura ramburii

Nehalennia integricollis

ANISOPTERA

Tachopteryx thoreyi

Anax junius

Anax longipes

«■

Basiaeschna janata

Gomphaeschna furcillata

Arigomphus villosipes

«■

•

Gomphus exilis

Gomphus iMdus

Progomphus obscurus

Didymops transversa

Epitheca cynosure

Epi theca spinosa

Somatochlora sp. ( tenebrosal )

Celithemis elisa

•

Celithemis eponina

Celithemis fasciata

Celithemis martha

Celithemis vema

•

Erythemis simplicicollis

Erythrodiplax minuscula

ROBLE& HOBSON ODONATA OF FORT A P. HILL

TABLE 3 (continued).

Bettys

SPECIES RECORDED Bottom

(30)

Li be llula auriperwis x

Ubellula axilena x

Libellula cyanea x

Libellula deplanata

Libellula flavida x

Libellula incesta x

Libellula luctuosa x

Libellula lydia

Libellula semifasciata x

Nannothemis bella x

Pachydiplax longipennis x

Perithemis tenera x

Sympetrum ambiguum

Sympetrum vicinum x

Tramea Carolina x

Tramea lacerata

Number of surveys* 2

Total species (54) 29

Pond species (47) 25

Stream or seepage species (7) 4

Common species (30) 1 8

Watchlist species (16) 6

State-rare species (7) 5

Percent watchlist + state-rare species 3 8

POND NAME AND MAP LOCATION

Hickory

Jordan

Lonesome

Smoots

Fork

Crossing

Lodge

Gulch East

North

(31)

(4)

(11)

(18)

(29)

r s

‘Excludes 1 November 1 993 surveys when no adult Odonata woe observed on the base.

Table 4. Comparison of the Odonata fauna of Caroline County, Virginia, with other areas in the eastern United States.

BAN1STERIA

NO. 7.

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1996

Natural History Notes on the Amphibians of a Recently
Extirpated Suburban Wetland in Central Virginia

Joseph C. Mitchell

Department of Biology and School of Continuing Studies
University of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia 23173

The decline of amphibian populations has been
documented throughout various parts of the world
(Phillips, 1990, 1994; Wake, 1991; Livermore, 1992;
Blaustein, 1994; Pechmann <Sc Wilbur, 1994) and has
been linked to several causes. Habitat loss is often listed as
the most serious cause (e.g., Bragg, 1960; Hoffman, 1992;
Blaustein 6*. Wake, 1995). Others include a virus
(Anderson, 1995), a fungus (Blaustein et ah, 1994b),
increased ultraviolet radiation (Blaustein, 1994a;
Kiesecker <Se Blaustein, 1995), acid precipitation
(Bradford et ah, 1992), and introduced species (Hayes <Sc
Jennings, 1986; Bradford, 1989; Richards et ah, 1993).
Amphibian populations of eastern North America
apparently have not been declining at the same rates as
those elsewhere. Available information from long-term
studies in protected habitats (Pechmann et ah, 1991;
Hairston <Sc Wiley, 1993) reveal no apparent negative or
positive trends. Aside from the possibility of acid
precipitation (Freda <Sc Dunson, 1985; Wyman, 1988),
habitat loss remains the single most important cause of
population decline and local population extirpation in
the East.

Few baseline inventories of amphibian communities in
Virginia have been published. Mitchell (1986) evaluated
the phenology of an anuran community in a freshwater
wetland bordering the Chesterfield County Airport in
1979 and 1980. Bogert (1952) and Organ (1961) studied
the relative abundance of salamanders in southwestern
Virginia. Species composition of amphibian communities
for specific sites are included in, for example, the species
lists in Ehjnn (1915), Richmond & Goin (1938),

Hutchison (1956), Rageot (1964), Hill <5c Pierson (1986),
Eckerlin (1991), Pague & Mitchell (1991), and Sattler
(1995). Such species lists allow later evaluations of the
impact of changes in land use and environmental
perturbations. My objective in this paper is to record
species occurrences and natural history observations on
the amphibians inhabiting a wetland site in central
Virginia that has been destroyed recently by suburban
development.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study site was a small (about 15x25 m) woodland
vernal pool <0.5 m deep located 3.7 km NNW
Midlothian (at U.S. Rt. 60) immediately west of Co. Rt.
714 (Winterfield Road) in the Salisbury development
district of Chesterfield County. The area was characterized
by broad, shallow depressions which required ditching to
lower the water table. Sweet gum ( Liquidambar styraciflua),
red maple (Acer rubrum), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica ), willow
oak ( Quercus phellos), and white oak - post oak hybrids
(Quercus alba x stellata ) characterized the forest cover. Tire
ground around the pool and pool substrate were covered
with a layer of decomposing leaves. A grassy area
(approximately 15 m in wide) in a telephone line right-of-
way separated the margin of the woods from the paved
road (Rt. 714). The vernal pool was located just beyond
the tree line and drained by a shallow ditch that led into
the grassy area. Several homes had been built in the area
recently and ditches had been dug along the margins of all
area roads. Water remained in the pool until mid-June in

BAN1STERIA

NO 7. 1996

1980. It did not refill until the following fall and winter
due to a prolonged drought (Mitchell, 1986). Ambient
and water tern jieratu res were similar on the days the pool
u'as sampled and ranged from 6° C to 1 1° C January
through March, 1418" C April-May, and 21-23° C in
early June.

I made nocturnal visits to this site nine times between
14 January and 23 June 1980. The site was visited again
on 24 November 1984, 12 October 1995, and 20 March
1996. .All species that were observed visually or heard
vocalizing were recorded and various aspects of their
natural history were noted. Larval samples were obtained

Table 1. Chronological, stage-based development of Pseudacris crucifer tadpoles in the Salisbury wetland, Chesterfield

County, Virginia, in 1980. N
total sample for each date.

is sample size, Stage

is the Gosner srage (Gosner,

1960), and % Sample is the percent of

Dare

Staee

% Sample

3 May

56.3

31.0

5.7

1.1

2.3

3.6

17 May

139

50.2

23.5

7.6

1.8

2.5

1.4

2.2

1.8

3.6

0.7

0.4

6 June

2.2

3.3

4.4

12.1

25.3

20.9

23.1

3.3

7 7

MITCHELL: WETLAND AMPHIBIANS

Table 2. Chronological, stage-based

development of Rana clamitans tadpoles in

the Salisbury wetland, Chesterfield

County, Virginia, in 1980. Refer to

Table 1 for abbreviations.

Date

Staee

% Sample

14 January

345

88.5

11.5

23 February

276

94.8

5.2

25 March

43.2

54.1

2.7

7 April

56.5

43.5

22 April

50.0

33.3

16.7

3 May

22.3

44.4

33.3

17 May

33.3

16.7

with a dipnet and preserved in the field in 10%
formaldehyde for later analysis. These samples were sorted
in the laboratory to species. Anuran tadpoles were staged
with the developmental staging sequence proposed by
Gosner (1960). Snout-vent lengths of all salamander
larvae were measured to the nearest millimeter.

RESULTS

A total of nine species of amphibians (6 anurans, 3
salamanders) was documented at the Salisbury site during
this study. The following reptiles were also recorded:
northern copperhead (A gkistrodon contortrix mokasen )
collected in the dry pool bed on 23 June, and two eastern

box turtles ( Tenapene Carolina Carolina), one collected alive
on 17 May and a shell found on 6 June 1980. Except as
noted below, all dates refer to 1980.

Anurans

Hyla chrysoscelis - Two to three males were heard calling
from trees on 6 June.

Pseudacris brhnleyi - Males called at this site on 23 February,
25 March, and 7 April. They were found in syntopy with
P. triseriata in an adjacent wetland dominated by
sphagnum moss and Smilax sp. on 23 February. A chorus
of 25-35 males called from wet woods lacking grass cover

BAN1STERIA

NO 7, 1996

on 25 March. A sample of four tadpoles of this species, all
in Gosner stage 26, was collected on 22 April.

PseuAacris crucifer - Males were heard calling from 23
February through 3 May. Larval growth was well underway
when the first tadpoles were collected on 3 May (Table 1).
Metamorphs were found on 17 May and 6 June. The wide
range of developmental stages represented on these dates
reflects the prolonged breeding period and numerous
cohorts typical of this anuran.

Pseudacris tmeriata - Males were heard calling on 23
February and 25 March. This species occurred in micro-
syntopy (<1 m apart) with P. brnnleyi in a sphagnum area
approximately 0.5 km SE of the primary study site off Rt.
714. Both species were calling from the water's surface
and while sitting on sphagnum. No tadpoles of this
species were collected. One male was heard calling nearby
on 20 March 1996.

Rana catesbeiana - One juvenile and one adult were
observed in the vernal pool on 22 April and six juveniles
were observed there on 6 June.

Rana clamitans - One to three adults were observed in the
woodland vernal pool on 7 April, 3 May, and 17 May.
Large samples of tadpoles were collected on 14 January
and 23 February (Table 2). Despite the fact that very large
numbers remained alive in the pool after these
collections, dramatically smaller numbers were observed
on and subsequent to 25 March. Larval growth occurred
primarily between late February and mid-May; two
individuals close to metamorphosis (stages 40 and 41)
were collected on 17 May (Table 2). The few

developmental stages represented in the samples
compared to those in the P. crucifer samples (Table 1)
indicate a relatively short breeding period and few
cohorts.

Salamanders

Ambystoma maculatum - T hree adults (2 females, 1 male)
were collected on 23 February in the flooded grassy area.
No courtship or mating behavior was observed. Egg
masses containing embryos apparently at hatching stage
were observed on 25 March. Two larvae collected on 17
May measured 17 and 18 mm SVL. Five larvae collected
on 6 June averaged 25.4il.l mm SVL (OR= 24-27 mm).

Ambystorrui opacum - Larvae of this species from the fall
1979 breeding period were present when the first
collection was made on 14 January. Larval growth
occurred between this date and 22 April, when three
metamorphs were collected (Table 3). The average growth
rate for the 97 day period from 14 January to 22 April was
0.29 mm/day. However, the growth rate was slower in the
14 January - 25 March period (0.13 mm/day) than in the
warmer period of 25 March - 22 April (0.68 mm/day).

On 24 November 1984, I found one adult female (65
mm SVL) with a partial clutch of eggs in the dried, vernal
pool area. On the same date approximately 100 m north
of the pool in the same patch of woods, 1 found eight
more females (mean SVL = 66.2+2.9 mm, range = 61.9-
71.1) with 62-209 (mean = 1 12.9M-5.1) eggs under moist
logs. On 12 October 1995, I found an adult female with
188 eggs iti a nest located in the former vernal pool under
a 4-5 cm diameter branch in deep soil; No other
salamanders were found under objects in the area.

Table 3. Chronological growth in snout-vent length of Ambystoma opacum larvae in the Salisbury wetland, Chesterfield
County, Virginia, in 1980. All measurements are in millimeters.

Date

Mean+SD

Ranee

14 January

14.0

13-15

23 February

16.6+1.3

13-19

25 March

22.9±2.0

18-26

7 April

28.1+2.1

25-32

22 April

42.0±3.0

39-44

MITCHELL: WETLAND AMPHIBIANS

Table 4. Comparison of male calling periods and riming of metamorphosis for selected anurans at two sites in Chester¬
field County, Virginia in 1980. Tire Chesterfield County Airport data are from Mitchell (1986) and those from the
Salisbury site are from this study. Numbers are month/day and a dashed line indicates unavailable information.

Calling period Metamorphosis

Soecies

Airport

Salisbury

Airport

Salisbury

P. brimleyi

2/22-4/22

2/23-4/7

4/17

—

P .crucifer

2/22-4/22

2/23-5/3

4/17

5/17-6/6

P. triseriata

2/22-4/22

2/23-3/25

—

R. clamitans

4/22-6/6

—

7/14

5/17

Notophthalmus viridescens - Adults were collected on 23
February, 25 March, and 7 April. Tire female collected on
25 March was gravid. No larvae of this species were
observed.

DISCUSSION

Available comparative data for the frogs in this study
are from Mitchell (1986), who studied an anuran
community for two years (19794980) in a wet field at the
Chesterfield County Airport, 21 km SE of the Salisbury
study site. Tire late spring and summer period of 1980
was relatively dry compared to the same period in 1979.
This resulted in substantial differences in breeding
phenology and larval survivorship between the two years
in spring and su m me r-b reed i ng frogs (Mitchell, 1986).
The early-breeding anurans experienced similar
hydroperiods between years. Tire breeding phenology of
these species at the Salisbury site mirrored that at the
Chesterfield Airport (Table 4). Metamorphic P. crucifer
were found 4-6 weeks later in the Salisbury site compared
to the airport site. Neither of the two summer-breeding
anurans, Rana catesbeiana and R. clamitans, were heard
calling at the Salisbury site in 1980, whereas both called
from late April to June at the Chesterfield County Airport
site that year. Metamorphic larvae of R. c lamitans were
collected on 17 May at the Salisbury site but only on 14
July at the airport site. Such differences in timing between
an open flooded field and a woodland vernal pool under
canopy cover suggest that local physical environments
influence variation in phenological events in anurans
occupying the same geographic area.

There are no published studies on the timing of larval
development and metamorphosis in ambystomatid sala¬
manders in central Virginia. Ambystoma maculatum adults
breed from February through March in the Piedmont and
Coastal Plain of the state, depending on patterns of
rainfall and temperature (personal observations). The
dates of larval occurrence for both species of Ambystoma
and the timing of metamorphosis in A. opacum reported
here are consistent with observations from western
Powhatan and central Goochland counties (J. C. Mitchell
and C. Hatcher, unpublished).

In October 1995, the vernal pool and forested area
were undergoing rapid changes. The telephone line right-
of-way between the road and the section of woods
containing the vernal pool had been compacted and was
covered in short, partly mowed grass. Tire ditch between
the road and the pool in this area had been almost
entirely filled and planted with introduced lawn grasses.
The area around the western margin of the vernal -pool in
the forest had been bulldozed for suburban roads and
houses. At the end of the bulldozed area adjacent to the
western side of the pool a large, square, concrete storm
drain had been constructed. Property boundary stakes
were located throughout the area and two of these were
within the vernal p>ool area. Thus, the vernal px>ol I
studied in 1980 apparently remained a viable breeding
habitat for amphibians until 1995. Only a shallow vestige
of the vernal p>ool remained on 20 March 1996 (Figure 1)
despite heavy rains and snowfall in February and March;
no amphibians were present. The recent construction of
roads, storm drain systems, and homes in the area will
prevent this site from retaining water from winter and

BANISTERLA

NO. 7, 1996

spring rains in the future, thus eliminating this woodland
vernal pool and associated terrestrial habitats for
amphibians.

Loss of aquatic, terrestrial, and arboreal habitats from
construction of urban and suburban areas is the primary
cause of population decline for amphibians and reptiles
in growing metro jiolitari areas such as the counties of
Chesterfield, Hanover, and Henrico around Richmond,
Virginia. Construction of suburban housing
developments continues at a fast pace in this area
(personal observation). The loss of small forested
wetlands, like this vernal pool, will continue as long as
there are no incentives to preserve these important
amphibian breeding habitats. Destruction of amphibian
habitat in this area is representative of a trend that has
been accelerating for over a cenniry. Bragg (1960)
observed the loss of breeding habitats around Norman,
Oklahoma due to the expansion of urban and suburban
development following World War II. Minton (1968) and
Klemens (1993) reported similar losses in Indiana and
New England, respectively.

Documentation of the flora and fauna of an area

Irefore it is destroyed for urban, suburban, industrial, or
transportation purposes should be made at every
opportunity. Such examples, when published, may
strengthen the concern about the loss of wetland habitat,
suj)[x>rt continued efforts to more effectively educate
landowners as to the value of these habitats, and provide
support for regulatory' actions (e.g., Roble, 1989) to
protect sensitive and biologically rich environments
exemplified by vernal pools.

ACKNOWLEDGM ENTS

I thank Wendy H. Mitchell for field assistance and
continued encouragement. Chris Pague assisted with field
work in 1984. Joanne Lapetina staged the tadpoles and
measured the larval salamanders. John W. Hayden
identified two of the trees. Steven M. Roble provided
thoughtful comments on the manuscript.

LITERATURE CITED

Anderson, I. 1995. Is a virus wiping out frogs? New

Figure 1. The vestigial woodland vernal pool at Salisbury, Chesterfield County, Virginia on 20 March 1996.
Note the concrete drainage system at the margin of the former pool.

MITCHELL WETLAND AMPHIBIANS

Scientist 7 January 1995:7.

Blaustein, A. R. 1994. Chicken little or Nero's fiddle? A
jx*rsj>ective on declining amphibian populations.
Heqjetologica 50:85-97.

Blaustein, A R., P. H. Hoffman, D. G. Hokit, J. M.
Kiesecker, C. Walls, 6c J. B. Hays. 1994a. UV repair and
resistance to solar UV-B in amphibian eggs: a link to
population declines? Proceedings of the National
Academy of Science 91:1791-1795.

Blaustein, A R., D. G. Hokit, 6c R. K. O'Hara. 1994b.
Pathogenic fungus contributes to amphibian losses in the
Pacific Northwest. Biological Conservation 67:251-254.

Blaustein, A. R., 6c D. B. Wake. 1995. The puzzle of
declining amphibian populations. Scientific American

272:52-57.

Bogert, C. M. 1952. Relative abundance, habitats, and
normal thermal levels of some Virginian salamanders.
Ecology 33:16-30.

Bradford, D. F. 1989. Allopatric distribution of native
frogs and introduced fishes in high Sierra Nevada lakes of
California: implication of the negative effect of fish
introductions. Copeia 1989:775-778.

Bradford, D. F., C. Swanson, 6c M. S. Gordon. 1992.
Effects of low pH and aluminum on two declining species
of amphibians in the Sierra Nevada, California. Journal of
Herpetology 26:369-377.

Bragg, A N. 1960. Population fluctuation in the
amphibian fauna of Cleveland County, Oklahoma,
during the past twenty-five years. Southwestern Naturalist
5:165-169.

Dunn, E. R. 1915. List of amphibians and reptiles
observed in the summers of 1912, 1913, and 1914 in
Nelson County, Virginia. Copeia (18): 5-7.

Eckerlin, R. P. 1991. The herpetofauna of George
Washington Birthplace National Monument, Virginia.
Catesbeiana 11:11-17.

Freda, J., 6c W. A Dunson. 1985. Tire effect of acid
precipitation on amphibian breeding in temporary ponds
in Pennsylvania. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Eastern
Energy and Land Use Team, Biological Report 80(40.22).
85 pp.

Gosner, K. L. 1960. A simplified table for staging anuran
embryos and larvae with notes on identification.
Herpetologica 16.182-190.

Hairston, N. G., Sr., 6c R. H. Wiley. 1993. No decline in
salamander (Amphibia: Caudata) populations: a twenty-
year study in the southern Appalachians. Brimleyana
18:59-64.

Hayes, M. P., 6c M. R. Jennings. 1986. Decline of ranid
frog species in western North Anerica: are bullfrogs (Rana
catesbeiana ) responsible? Journal of Herpetology 20:490-
509.

Heyer, W. R., M. A Donnelly, R. W. McDiarmid, L. C.
Flayek, 6c M. S. Foster (eds.). 1994. Measuring and
Monitoring Biological Diversity, Standard Methods for
Amphibians. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington,
DC. 364 pp.

Hill, J. M., 6c T. A Pierson. 1986. The herpetofauna of
Caledon State Park, Virginia. Catesbeiana 6:11-17.

Hoffman, R. L. 1992. Anuran population declines in
western Virginia. Catesbeiana 12:34-35.

Hutchison, V. H. 1956. An annotated _ list -of the
amphibians and reptiles of Giles County, Virginia.
Virginia Journal of Science 7:80-86.

Kiesecker, J. M., 6c A R. Blaustein. 1995. Synergism
between UV-B radiation and a pathogen magnifies
amphibian embryo mortality in nature. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Science 92: 1 1049-1 1052.

Klemens, M. W. 1993. Amphibians and Reptiles of
Connecticut and Adjacent Regions. State Geological and
Natural History Survey, Connecticut Bulletin No. 112.
Hartford, CT. 318 pp.

BAN1STER1A

NO 7, 1996

Livermore, B. 1992. Amphibian alarm: just where have all
the frogs gone? Smithsonian, October 1992:1 13-1 20.

Minton, S. A., Jr. 1968. The fate of amphibians and
reptiles in a suburban area. Journal of Heqietology 2:1 13'
116.

Mitchell, J. C. 1986. Life history patterns in a central
Virginia anuran community. Virginia Journal of Science

37:262,271.

Organ, J. A. 1961. Studies of the local distribution, life
history, and population dynamics of the salamander genus
Dennognatkus Ecological Monographs 31:189-220.

Pague, C. A., <Sc J. C. Mitchell. 1991. The amphibians and
reptiles of Back Bay, Virginia. Pp. 159-166 In H.G.
Marshall <Sc M.D. Norman (eds.), Proceedings of the Back
Bay Ecological Symposium. Old Dominion University,
Norfolk.

Pechmann, J. H. KL, D. E. Scott, R. D. Semlitsch, J. P.
Caldwell, L. J. Vitt, <Sc J. W. Gibbons. 1991. Declining
amphibian populations: the problem of separating human
impacts from natural fluctuations. Science 253:892-895.

Pechmann, J. H. K., <Sc H. M. Wilbur. 1994. Putting
declining amphibian populations in perspective: natural
fluctuations and human impacts. Heq>etologica 50:65-84.

gone? BioScience 40:422-424.

Phillips, K. 1994. Tracking the vanishing frogs. St.
Martin’s Press, New York, NY. 244 pp.

Rageot, R. H. de. 1964. Herpetofauna of Surry County,
Virginia. Virginia fderpetological Society Bulletin (40):3-6.

Richards, S. J., K. R. McDonald, <Sc R. A. Alford. 1993.
Declines in populations of Australia’s endemic tropical
rainforest frogs. Pacific Conservation Biology 1:66-77.

Richmond, N. D., <Sc C. J. Goin. 1938. Notes on a
collection of amphibians and reptiles from New Kent
County, Virginia. Annals of the Carnegie Museum of
Natural History 27:301-310.

Roble, S. M. 1989. Life in fleeting waters. Massachusetts
Wildlife (Spring):22-29.

Sattler, P. 1995. Amphibians and reptiles from Candler
Mountain, Campbell County, Virginia. Catesbeiana
15:35-44.

Wake, D. B. 1991. Declining amphibian populations.
Science 253:860.

Wyman, R. L 1988. Soil acidity and moisture and the
distribution of amphibians in five forests of southcentral
New York. Copeia 1988:394-399.

Phillips, K. 1990. Where have all the frogs and toads

Banisteria, Number 7, 1996

€> 1996 by the Virginia Natural History Society

Occurrence of the Costate Riversnail, Oxytrema catenaria (Say),
in Virginia (Gastropoda: Pleuroceridae)

Richard L. Hoffman

Virginia Museum of Natural History
Martinsville, Virginia 24112

As currently interpreted (e.g., by Burch, 1989), Cbcytrema
catenana Say, 1822)1 is a complex of five subspecies ranging
from Rorida to Virginia, with the nominate race confined to
eastern South Carolina.

Occurring in Piedmont streams across both Carolmas and
into eastern Virginia is the northern element of the group, 0.
catenaria dislocata (Reeve, 1861), a taxon the relationship of
which to the nominate "subspecies" requires reexamination.
The most recent synopsis of this group was published just
over 50 years ago (Goodrich, 1942). Whether the two names
refer to species, subspecies, or innominate phenotypic
variation remains to be settled by modem systematic studies,
including comparative protein and/or DNA analyses.

The status of this form as a member of the Virginia fauna
rests solely upon the record by Goodrich (op.cit) for
"Greenville Co." without further attribution. Inquiry into
possible sources finally located the cited material at the
Carnegie Museum, with the data

"Accn. 7894 Goniobasis dislocata, Ortmann
Aug 22, 1926, Fontaine Creek, Rockbridge
School, Greenville Co VA"

Ortmann's locality on Fontaine Creek is at the present
crossing of Va. Rte 639, ca. 5 miles (8 km) southwest of the
center of Emporia. He must have come into Emporia by rail,
and hired a wagon for transport to rural sites such as
Rockbridge School and Slagle's Mill (where he obtained
unionids). The school building no longer exists.

1 The rationale advanced by Morrison (1954: 359) for use of the
generic name Oxytrema of Rafinesque is far more convincing to me
than those justifying adoption of the much yDunger name Elimia H.
& A. Adams.

O. catenana is in fact widespread and often abundant in
many streams of "Southside Virginia" as collections in recent
years have shown, and as is attested by die map that
accompanies this note.

Material (all in VMNH and collected by the author except
as noted): Brunswick Co.: Meherrin River at Va. 670 bridge,
2 October 1988; Nottoway River at Va. 609 bridge, 1
October 1988, with Mudalia. Campbell Co.: Falling River at
Va. 643 bridge, ca 2 miles (3.5 km) northeast of Naruna, 10
April 1988; Falling River at confluence with Hat Creek, Va.
605, ca 2 miles (3.5 km) north of Brookneal, 10 April 1988.
Dinwiddie Co.: Stony Creek at Va. 646 bridge, ca 4 mi (6.4
km) west Dinwiddie C.H., 4 August 1991, with Mudalia.
Greensville Co.: Nottoway River at Va. 619 bridge, 5 mi. (8
km) NW of Jarratt, 6 October 1989, with Mudalia and
Oxytrema vhginica. Lunenburg Co.: South Meherrin River at
Va. 634 bridge, ca 4 miles (6.3 km) south of Rehoboth, 9 May
1988. Mecklenburg Co.: "Bhiestone River" RBluestone
Creek], north of Clarksville (site probably inundated by Buggs
Island Lake), J. P. E. Morrison (USNM). Pittsylvania Co.:
Banister River at Va. 640 bridge, south of Mount Airy, 2
April 1988, with Mudalia sp. Southampton Co.: Nottoway
River at Va. 653 bridge, 3 mi west of Sebrell, date Sussex Co.:
Nottoway River at Va. 626 bridge, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of
Sussex C. H., 17 June 1988, with Mudalia and Oxytrema

virginica.

It has been possible to delimit the northern extent of the
species' range with considerable confidence. It appears to stop
somewhat short of the James River drainage basin, in south'
flowing streams of the Roanoke and Chowan river systems.
In many places, it co-exists with a local form of Mudalia, in
those cases showing a somewhat greater tendency to occur on

BAN1STERIA

NO. 7, 1996

the sandy stream Ixh than on rocks, which the imidalia seems
to prefer. Only rarely has catenaria been found in company
with other species of Qxytrema , as indicated in the preceding
list of specimens examined. Its only incursion into the
Coastal Plain seems to be along the relatively pristine
Nottoway River. Downstream from Franklin, Virginia, the
Nottoway becomes lenric and deep, and does not appear
propitious for the s{>ecies. Recent examination of the
Meherrin River at several sites below Emporia have not
produced catenaria despite apparently suitable habitat.

Systematic searches to locate the sixties further north,
toward the headwaters of Falling River in Campbell County
and Cub Creek in Charlotte, have been routinely negative, as
have extended surveys in the Appomattox drainage. Nor has
field work in the same drainages by staff of rbe Division of
Natural Fleritage been more successful.

Hie relatively large populations at [x-riplieral localities
suggest that the species was expanding its Tange at the time of
Eurojtean colonization, after which fragmentation was
effected by human impacts (e.g., intensive cultivation of
tobacco in Soutltside Virginia). Curiously, catenaria occurs
farthest upstream and west in the Roanoke drainage (Banister
River), likewise far upstream but not so far west in the
Meherrin, and apparently not much beyond the Fall Line in
the Nottoway where nonetheless it is abundant. Assuming a
northward spread through Piedmont drainages, the system to
be occupied first and longest in Virginia would have been the

Roanoke, followed by Meherrin and Nottoway in that order.
Possibly catenaria has just not had enough rime to occupy
Piedmont reaches of the Nottoway, for its absence from
which there is no obvious a priori reason.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks are extended to Tanya Kausch and Richard I.
Johnson, Museum of Comparative Zoology; George M.
Davis, Academy of Natural Sciences; Richard V. Lamb,
Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan; and Robert L.
Davidson and Charles Stunn, Carnegie Museum, for
searching collections under their care for the elusive
Greensville County material. Dr. Robert T. Dillon, College of
Charleston, kindly reviewed an early draft of this note.

REFERENCES

Burch, John B. 1989. North American Freshwater Snails.
Malacological Publications, Hamburg, Michigan, p. 1-365.

Goodrich, Calvin. 1942. The Pleuroceridae of the Atlantic
Coastal Plain. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology,
University of Michigan, 456: lh.

Morrison, J. P. E., 1954. The relationships of the Old and
New World melanians. Proceedings of the United States
National Museum, 103: 357-394.

Figure 1 . Central and eastern Virginia, showing known localities for Chcytrema catenaria (Say). The east-west dashed line follows
the divide between the James River basin and the Chowan-Roanoke basins to the south. Nortlvsouth dotted line to the right
side is the approximate course of the "Fall Line". Major rivers are identified along the bottom margin.

Banistena, Number 7, 1996

«? 1996 by the Virginia Natural History Society

Injury of a Northern Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon)
in a Mountain Stream During Severe Hooding

Joseph C. Mitchell1 and Christopher Todd W. Georgel2

'Department of Biology and School of Continuing Studies
University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173

2 11953 West Briarpatch Dr., Midlothian, VA 23113

Flooding in mountain streams is a common event. The
force of water moving rapidly through stream courses can
cause substantial movement of rocks and soil and, as a
result of severe rainstorms, the complete alteration of the
physical structure of the channel. Tire flora and fauna
inhabiting montane streams are also affected. Populations
of aquatic invertebrates and fish experience downstream
drift, varying levels of mortality, and local extinctions
(Anderson 6c Lehmkuhl, 1968; Hoopes, 1974, 1975;
Ross 6c Baker, 1983; Matdrews, 1986; Tarter, 1990).
Species occupying montane streams have probably
adapted to periodic flood events in a variety of ways,
including, for instance, finding shelter or being able to
quickly repopulate decimated areas. Little is known of the
effects of flooding on amphibians and reptiles in stream
ecosystems, and nothing has been published on this
subject on reptiles in Virginia (Mitchell, 1994).

On 27-28 June 1995, severe flooding occurred in the
Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia resulting in major
structural changes in several mountain streams and rivers
and substantial damage to fisheries resources and roads,
farms, and homes downstream (Anonymous, 1995;
Brandt, 1996). The Staunton and Moormans rivers on
the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains were
severely impacted, as were streams, such as Paine Run, on
the western slope. As much as 80 cm of rain fell on the
Rapidan River at Ruckersville in Madison County
(Anonymous, 1995). Many tons of rocks were displaced
and rearranged throughout the impacted channels of

these streams, and canopy trees were completely removed
in many areas (JCM and CTWG, personal observations).
Before the flood, Paine Run was characterized by an
abundance of loose, small rocks, bank edge with no
associated rock cover, scattered large boulders, and
patches of rubble and gravel (Mitchell, 1996). After the
flood, the stream contained all of these habitats but the
number of rocks 0. 1-1.0 m in size increased substantially
throughout channel. Watermarks on trees and adjacent
slopes indicated that the flood level in Paine Run was
approximately 2-3 m above normal non-flood levels.

On 5 July 1995, we found an adult, female northern
watersnake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon) in Paine Run,
Shenandoah National Park, 8.2 km SSE Grottoes,
Augusta County, Virginia that appeared to be lethargic
and disoriented. The snake was lying on the northern
bank 30 cm from the water's edge and did not try to
escape. She measured 792 mm snout-vent length, 108
mm tail length (with tail tip missing), and weighed 225 g.
Her body temperature was 24.0° C, ambient temperature
was 25.0° C, and water and soil temperature were 16.0°
C, indicating that she had been basking. Because she did
not exhibit the expected rapid escape behavior and the
fact that her body appeared to have been "beaten up"
(wrinkled skin, roughened scales, weak and limp body,
blind in the left eye), her behavior and condition
suggested to us that she may have been injured in the
recent flood. We collected the specimen for laboratory
evaluation; it will be donated to the Shenandoah National

BANISTER1A

NO 7, 1996

Park vertebrate collection.

Close examination of X-radiographs of this specimen
revealed that two ribs on the right side attached to
vertebrae 29 and 30 (counting from the posterior margin
of the skull) located near the heart had been fractured. All
other ribs and the skull were intact. There were no
puncture wounds in the vicinity of the fractures. Internal
inspection ol internal organs revealed no obvious trauma.
Radiographs and necropsy also revealed that she was not
gravid nor had prey in her stomach.

Causes of the abnormal behavior, roughened
appearance, and fractured ribs of this snake cannot be
ascertained with certainty. The fact that we also found an
intact, dead, adult northern spring salamander
(Gyrinophilus porphyridcus pcrrphyridcus) under an
overhanging bank and a dead crayfish in the same area
supports our hypothesis that this snake was injured by
shifting rocks during the flood. On the other hand, we
also found several uninjured salamanders ( Eurycea cirrigera,
Desmognathus mondcola, G. porphyridcus ) and a juvenile
hJerodia sipedon (290 mm SVL). The female N. sipedon
could have simply been an old adult in this population
and may have been stressed in several ways, e.g., recent
escape from a predator, hunger, or the flood. The lack of
puncture wounds or other evidence of an encounter with
a predator, however, supports our interpretation that the
injury was caused by the flood.

Mortality and injuries of snakes inhabiting mountain
streams during severe flooding are undoubtedly more
widespread than we have been able to ascertain. However,
the presence of uninjured snakes and salamanders before
and after such events suggests these animals possess
behaviors or have escape routes to avoid being killed or
injured by periodic floods. Other observations of
amphibians and reptiles following severe flooding should
be reported and collections and evaluations of dead and
injured specimens after such natural events should be
made whenever possible.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Tracy Tubeville, of the Savannah River
Ecology Laboratory, for providing the X-radiographs of
this specimen. Tonnie Maniero, Tom Blount, and Jim
Atkinson facilitated our research in Shenandoah National
Park. Thomas K. Pauley reviewed the manuscript. Field

observations were made while supported by a grant to
JCM from the Legacy Resource Management Program of
the TJ.S. Department of Defense.

LITERATURE CITED

Anderson, N. H., and D. M. Lehmkuhl. 1968.
Catastrophic drift of insects in a woodland stream.
Ecology 49: 198-206.

Anonymous. 1995. The big drench. Virginia Climate
Advisory 19: 12-1 3.

Hoopes, R. 1974. Hooding as a result of Hurricane Agnes
and its effect on a macrobenthic community in an
infertile headwater stream in central Pennsylvania.

Limnology and Oceanography 19:853-857.

Hoopes, R. 1975. Hooding as a result of Hurricane Agnes
and its effect on a native brook trout population in an
infertile headwater stream in central Pennsylvania.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 104:96-99.

Brandt, T. 1996. Hood. Virginia Wildlife 57(l):4-7.

Matthews, W. J. 1986. Fish faunal structure in an Ozark
stream: stability, persistence and a catastrophic flood.
Copeia 1986:388-397.

Mitchell, J. C. 1994. The Reptiles of Virginia.
Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. 352 pp.

Mitchell, J. C. 1996. Amphibian decline .in the mid-
Atlantic region: monitoring and management of a
sensitive resource. Unpublished report to the Legacy
Resource Management Program, U.S. Department of
Defense, Arlington, VA. 85 pp.

Ross, S. T., and J. A. Baker. 1983. The response of fishes
to periodic spring floods in a southeastern stream.
American Midland Naturalist 109: 1-14.

Tarter, D. C. 1990. Recolonization of benthic
populations following catastrophic flood in two West
Virginia streams. Proceedings of the West Virginia
Academy of Science 62: 111-131.

BanistencL, Number 7, 1996
C 1996 by the Virginia Natural Histoiy Society

Hydrobiomorpha casta (Say) in Virginia
(Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)

Warren E. Steiner, Jr.

Department of Entomology, NHB-165
Smithsonian Institution .Washington, DC 20560

The first known Virginia records of a species of water
scavenger beetle are reported here. Hydrobiomorpha casta
(Say) was not listed in the recent review of Virginia's
Hydrophilidae (Matta, 1974). This insect is known from
North and South Carolina (Brigham, 1982), other
southeastern states, Cuba, and Mexico to Panama
(Bachmann, 1988; Mouchamps, 1959; Spangler, 1973;
Jasper <Sc Vogtsberger, 1996). It is the only species of
Hydrobiomorpha (known in earlier literature as
Neohydrophilus) that occurs in North America. Its
discovery in Virginia adds another genus to the known
fauna of the state.

NEW RECORDS AND COMMENTS

The following specimens (in the collections of U.S.
National Museum of Natural History and Virginia
Museum of Natural History) from three localities in
southeastern Virginia represent the known northern
limits of this tropical species. Two are labeled "Va.
Princess Anne Co., 3 Mi S. Creeds, u. v. It. 21-VHM971,
M. Druckenbrod"; one is labeled "Oceana, Va. Beach, Va.,
June 5, 1974, ColL WAA. Sewage area"; five are labeled
"VIRGINIA Prs. Anne Co., Sandbridge Beach, 22-23
August 1987, W. E. Steiner, J. M. Hill & J. M.
Swearingen". A number of southern animals and plants
reach their northern limits in this part of Virginia
(personal observations).

Interestingly, two of the above collections were taken at
black light during the same time of year. The series from
Sandbridge Beach was, according to field notes on 22

August 1987, collected at a black light and sheet hung at
the back dune edges of the beach strand, facing inland to
a marsh behind a dense shrub zone. Temperature at dark
was about 24°C and sky was cloudy, with occasional wind
gusts.

All specimens from both samples taken at light were
teneral, indicating that they probably came from a
breeding site nearby, and also that (in Virginia) fully
grown larvae of H. casta likely occur in mid-summer. The
larva of this species was described (Spangler, 1973) using a
third-instar specimen taken in Alabama in early July. In
eastern Texas, a larva was taken in late August (Jasper <Sc
Vogtsberger, 1996).

Exemplified here is the value of using black light to
complement other collecting methods used in insect
surveys. In spite of intensive net-sampling in the state's
tidewater area (Matta, 1974), this relatively large beetle
had not been detected. While the presence of a species at
black light is not informative in identifying the habitat of
origin, it results in detection of "rare" species not easily
found by other methods. This can alert the specialist to
the occurrence of a particular habitat (or host species) in
the area, or indicate a need for more sampling in selected
habitat types. The recent use of submerged bottle traps
has been proven successful in taking series of H. casta
(Jasper &. Vogtsberger, 1996) and beetles also came to
lights at the same sites.

In Florida, Young (1954) infrequently found H. casta
in a variety of lentic habitats "in the flatwoods" and "never
found it in large numbers". Texas specimens were col¬
lected from a pond and brackish marshes described in

BAN1STER1A

NO 7. 1996

detail by Jasper & Vogtsberger (1996). All known
localities for the species in the southern U.S A. are in low
coastal areas. In the NMNH material, the greatest number
of collection records are from Florida. The largest series,
taken since Young's (1954) work, are labeled as being
taken at light or blacklight. All specimens reported from
Mississippi were also taken at lights (Testa & Lago, 1994).

CHARACTERS AND IDENTIFICATION

Using the key to hydrophilid genera of Virginia (Matta,
1974), Hydrobiomorpha keys to Hy drachma (couplet 6).
North American members of these two genera are very
similar in size and appearance, with the body being only
slightly more flattened and narrow in the former, as
illustrated by White, et al. (1984) and Testa 6c Lago
1994). The following couplet should be inserted so as to
separate these taxa:

6a. Anterior margin of clypeus broadly emarginate, with
pale band of membrane broadly exposed along base

of labrum . Hydrobiomorpha Blackburn

Anterior margin of clypeus truncate, with pale band
of membrane very narrow and inconspicuous along
base of labrum . Hydrochara Berthold

In addition to the shape of the clypeus (figured by
Brigham, 1982 and White, et al., 1984), the male genitalia
of Hydrobiomorpha casta are unusually ornate and
distinctive (see Bachmann, 1988). There are also generic
differences in the antennal club, prostemal process and
pattern of punctures and pores on the labrum (Leech 6c
Chandler, 1956; Testa 6c Lago, 1994). Hansen (1991)
has most recently characterized the genera on a worldwide
basis.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank James M. Hill and Jil M. Swearingen for
assistance in fieldwork, and Jean and Keith Northup for
the invitation to their beach house where I was able to
collect specimens. Richard L Hoffman and Michael
Kosztarab, Virginia Museum of Natural History,
graciously allowed me to examine collections in their care.
PaulJ. Spangler provided information on literature and a
review of an early draft of this study.

LITERATURE CITED

Bachmann, A. O. 1988. Las especies Americanas de
Hydrobiomorpha (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae). Opera
Lilloana 36: 1-63.

Brigham, W. U. 1982. Aquatic Coleoptera. Pp. 10.1-
10.136 in: Brigham, A. R., W. U. Brigham 6c A. Gnilka,
eds. Aquatic insects and oligochaetes of North and South
Carolina. Midwest .Aquatic Enterprises, Mahomet,
Illinois.

Hansen, M. 1991. The Hydrophiloid Beetles. Phyto¬
geny, classification and a revision of the genera
(Coleoptera, Hydrophiloidea). Biologiske Skrifter, Det
Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab 40:1-368.

Jasper, S. K. 6c R. C. Vogtsberger. 1996. First Texas
records of five genera of aquatic beetles (Coleoptera:
Noteridae, Dytiscidae, Hydrophilidae) with habitat notes.
Entomological News 107(l):49-60.

Leech, H. B. 6c H. P. Chandler. 1956. Aquatic
Coleoptera. Pp. 293-371 in Usinger, R. L., ed. Aquatic
Insects of California. University of California Press,
Berkeley.

Matta, J. F. 1974. The Insects of Virginia. No. 8.
Aquatic Hydrophilidae of Virginia (Coleoptera: Poly-
phaga). Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Uni¬
versity, Research Division Bulletin 94:1-44.

Mouchamps, R. 1959. Remarques concernant les genres
Hydrobiomorpha Blackburn et Neohydrophilus Orchymont
(Coleopteres Hydrophilides). Bulletin et Annales de la
Societe Royale d'Entomologie de Belgique 95(1 1-12):295-
335.

Spangler, P. J. 1973. A desription of the larva of Hydro¬
biomorpha casta (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae). Journal of
the Washington Academy of Sciences 63(4): 160-164.

Testa, S. 6c P. K. Lago. 1994. The aquatic Hydrophilidae
(Coleoptera) of Mississippi. Mississippi Agricultural and
Forestry Experimental Station Technical Bulletin 193:1-
71.

SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

White, D. S., W. U. Brigham <Sc J. T. Doyen. 1984.
Aquatic Coleoptera. Pp. 361-437 in Merritt, R. W. <Sc K.
W. Cummins, eds. An Introduction to the .Aquatic
Insects of North America. Second Edition. Kendall-

Hunt, Dubuque, Iowa.

Young, F. N. 1954. The water beetles of Florida
University of Florida Biological Series 5(1): 1-238.

Shorter Contributions

LEAF-CARRYING WITH THE TAIL IN THE VIRGINIA
OPOSSUM, D1DELPHIS VIRGINIANA. - The Virginia
opossum, Didelphis vugimami, is well known for its long,
scantily haired, prehensile tail used for grasping in
climbing activities and, for example, the grasping of the
tail of the mother by young. Although leaf carrying with
the tail had been reported in captive animals (Pray, 1921;
Layne, 1951; Hopkins, 1977) and in a wild setting
(Smith, 1941), I was unaware of such use until I made the
observation described herein. The phenomenon seems to
be little known among biologists.

At 0700 h on 4 July 1992, while looking out the
window into my wooded back yard in suburban
Chesterfield County, Virginia, I saw what appeared to be
a severely injured Virginia opossum. It was unusual to see
an opossum active in daylight and I assumed its behavior
to be the result of an injury. Only 10 to 12 m away and
moving among a few low shrubs and past tree trunks, the
opossum appeared to have a rough-shaped mass under its
tail that looked like protruding viscera. The opossum
walked irregularly, frequently stopping, and with its back
hunched would reach back with its head under the belly
between its legs and appeared to be grabbing at the mass
under its tail.

I then realized that the mass grew larger each time the
opossum reached back. It was placing leaves under its
belly with its mouth and then grasping them with its tail.
The opossum ambled out of sight relatively rapidly when
the bulk of material (in lateral view) was equal to what I
estimated to be about one third the size of its body; much
larger than the mass depicted in the accurate sketch by
Pray (1921). From close-range observations, Smith (1941)

and Layne (1951) noted that the o{>ossum used its
hindlegs to help pass the material and settle it in the tail
loop. I did not see this. The opossum I observed appeared
to be an adult, but leaf carrying with the tail is not
restricted to adults. Smith (1941) observed a "slightly more
than half grown" individual, Layne (1951) a "young male
opossum," and Hopkins (1977) reported on young
"estimated to be 88 to 97 days old" that "weighed about
121 fr¬
it had rained more than 1.5 cm in the 24 hr preceding
my observation and, although partly sunny at 0700 h, the
leaves on the ground were wet. It is likely that the
opossum was collecting leaves to construct a nest or add
to a pre-existing one. Opossums construct nests in a
variety of situations including arboreal sites. Since they
are known to build nests of coarse leaf material, it is
possible that carrying leaves and similar items is a
common use of the prehensile tail but one that we rarely
get to observe because they normally are nocturnal.
McManus (1974) summarized that leaf carrying with the
tail "...frees the limbs for locomotion," but it likely has
other functions as well. Nesting material is carried in the
mouth by most mammals and leaf carrying by the tail by
the Virginia opossum also frees the mouth for
opportunistic feeding. Layne (1951) and Hopkins (1977)
observed that captives sometimes paused to feed or drink
while clutching the nesting materials in their tails.

Literature Cited

Hopkins, D. 1977. Nest-building behavior in the
immature Virginia opossum, Didelphis virginiana.
Mammalia 41:361-362.

Layne, J. N. 1951. The use of the tail by an opossum.
Journal of Mammalogy 32:464-465.

BANISTERIA

NO. 7, 1996

McManus, J. J. 1974. Didelphis virgmiana. Mammal
Species 40: 1-6.

Pray, L. 1921. Opossum carries leaves with its tail. Journal
of Mammalogy 2:109-110.

Smith, L. 1941. An observation on the nest-building
behavior of the opossum. Journal of Mammalogy 22:201-
202.

John F. Pagels
Department of Biology
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia 23284

ANOTHER CASE OF ALBINISM IN A BLACK RAT
SNAKE ( ELAPHE OBSOLETA OBSOLETA ) FROM
VIRGINIA — Albinism has been reported occasionally for
several species of snakes from Virginia locations. These
include the eastern worm snake (Carphophis amoenus amoenus)
from the Gty of Arlington, eastern milk snake ( Lampropelds
triangulum triangulum ) from Montgomery County, northern
watersnake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon ) from New Kent County,
and three black rat snakes (Elaphe obsolete obsolete) from three
widely separated locadons (Mitchell, 1994b). Mitchell (1994a)
described a xanthic N. sipedon from Giles County. Albinistic
or partially albinistic black rat snakes have been reported from
Rockingham County (Carroll, 1950), Westmoreland County
(Hensley, 1959), and Washington County (D. Qgle, personal
communication). The latter snake was a juvenile that retained
the blotched pattern but had no black pigment.

On 14 August 1992, the second author discovered an
albino E. o. obsoleta (VMNH 7 103) in a highly urbanized area
on Meadow Forest Road, north of die confluence of Drum

Point Creek and the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River,
City of Chesapeake, Virginia. The snake was a juvenile female
(375 mm snout-vent length, 67 mm tail lengdi) and had been
killed by vehicular traffic. Background body color bodi
dorsally and ventrally, as well as the head, neck, and rail were
pinkish white. Body blotches were visible but were very light
tan in color. The eyes were pink in life. This albinistic
specimen is the first to be reported from southeastern
Virginia and die fourdi known from the Commonwealth.

Literature Cited

Carroll, R- P. 1950. Amphibia and repriles. Pp. 195-211 In
James River Project Committee (compilers), The James River
Basin, Past, Present, and Future. Virginia Academy of
Science, Richmond, VA.

Hensley, M. 1959. Albinism in North .American amphibians
and reptiles. Publication of the Museum of Michigan State
University, Biological Series 1:133-159.

Mitchell, J. C. 1994a. An unusually colored northern water
snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon ) from Giles County, Virginia.
Banisteria 4:32-33.

Mitchell, J. C. 1994b. The Reptiles of Virginia. Smithsonian
Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 352 pp.

Joseph C. Mitchell

Department of Biology and School of Continuing Studies
University of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia 23173

and

Gary M. Williamson

Department of Conservation and Recreation

Kiptopeke State Park

3540 Kiptopeke Drive

Cape Charles, Virginia 23310

Miscellanea

Book Review

Birds of the Blue Ridge Mountains, by Marcus B. Simpson,
Jr. 1992. Tire Universry of North Carolina Press, Chapel
Hill NC. xviii + 354 pages. $14.95 paperback, $29.95
cloth. Available from Tire University of North Carolina
Press, P.O.Box 2288, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2288. For
orders only, phone 1-S00-848-6224.

This book is a birdfinding guide for the Blue Ridge
Parkway and environs. It provides directions to many
good spots for birding along the Parkway and in nearby
areas, includes 26 maps of the locations covered, and
suggests the best time of year to visit each site. A typical
entry gives the location of a site either in terms of its
location on the Parkway or by telling how to reach it from
the Parkway or another major road. This is accompanied
by suggestions for where to walk while visiting the site and
what birds are likely to be seen there. Twenty-two black-
and-white illustrations by H. Douglas Pratt depict birds
which occur along the Parkway. The birds are often
shown in a recognizable Blue Ridge setting; a perched
Peregrine Falcon with Looking Glass Rock in the
background is an example. Although the book's main
focus is the Parkway, chapter five covers other areas
ranging from the northern end of the Blue Ridge in
Pennsylvania south to northern Georgia. Since the
northern 215 miles of the Parkway are in Virginia, much
of the information included in this book applies to birds
and places to study them within this state.

With its maps, directions, and species lists, this book
could provide inspiration for many birding trips along the
Parkway. Both public and private lands are covered, but
accessible public property’ is emphasized. This is good
since access to private areas can change with the moods of
owners, and such changes in access commonly contribute
to making birdfinding guides obsolete. This book may
remain useful for a longer time than a typical birdfinding
guide thanks to its emphasis on public lands. Although
the layout of the book is attractive, the paperback edition
might not be durable in the field, and it will not stay open

at a given page without being restrained in some way. The
cloth edition might be more durable, but is more than
twice the cost. Many birdfinding guides, such as the series
currently produced by the American Birding Association,
are bound with a plastic comb or metal spiral binding
which allows them to lie flat when opened. Providing
such a binding for at least one edition of this book would
have made it easier to use.

This book does not attempt to serve as an
identification guide. This is certainly not needed, given
that several good field guides covering birds of the Blue
Ridge area are available. Like many birdfinding guides,
this one does give details on the seasonal occurrence and
abundance of birds in the form of an annotated checklist.
This information is useful, but it is not as carefully
presented as it could have been. Simpson's checklist,
found in chapter six, has some inconsistencies which
render it only partly successful. Like many similar lists,
this one uses terms of relative abundance such as
"uncommon," "rare," and "erratic" in ways that are not as
clearly defined as they could be. When reading some of
the entries for uncommon or rare species, it is not always
clear why a given term was chosen, as the following
examples illustrate.

The term "accidental" is used to describe many species
listed, but it is unclear why it is applied to some and not
others. For example, the Western Kingbird* and Scissor-
tailed Flycatcher are listed on page 294 as rare transients,
not accidentals, which might imply to some readers that
they are rare but regular in occurrence in the Blue Ridge.
Simpson defines accidentals on page 277 as "Species
whose occurrence is outside their normal range." This
description would seem to fit both of the flycatchers men¬
tioned. Both species appear fairly often as accidentals in
the eastern states, but they are not so regular that the Blue
Ridge should be considered a part of their "normal range."
By contrast, Wilson's Phalaropes and Baird's Sandpipers
are also called rare transients. These shore-birds are
certainly rare in the high-elevation wooded areas common
in the Blue Ridge, but given their migration habits they
can reasonably be expected to show up on occasion in

BANISTER1A

NO. 7, 1996

nearby areas of appropriate habitat, and they do.

For truly accidental species, listing the number of
records and their date is helpful, but this is not done
consistently in the text. For example, the Painted Bunting
is called accidental in the Virginia Blue Ridge (page 309)
but no exact number of records for the species is given.
Four records from locales in or near the Blue Ridge, with
dates, are listed in Virginia's Birdlife: An Annotated Checklist,
which Simpson cites in his references (albeit with the title
given incorrectly). For other accidental species an exact
number of records is included, e.g., one record for Eared
Grebe and three for American White Pelican, and dates
are given for each. But with these two species, the exact
date is listed for the grebe while only the months are given
for the pelican. It isn't clear why such inconsistencies are
found in the checklist.

A few other details in the book are inaccurate or
puzzling. For example, on page 1 1 the text says that the
"continental divide follows the Blue Ridge crest" when
apparently the author is referring to the so-called eastern
continental divide between Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of
Mexico drainages - not the actual continental divide. It is
also unclear why the author repeatedly uses the spelling
"bird-watching" rather than the more common spelling
sans hyphen. And despite its title, the book covers areas
in parts of the southern Appalachians, such as the Smoky,
Nanthahala, and Unicoi mountains, which are often not
considered part of the Blue Ridge. Of course broadening
the scope of the area covered beyond the Blue Ridge sensu
strictu allows Simpson to include several more sites,
making his guide more useful, so this is arguably not a
fault but a virtue.

This book is definitely valuable for visitors to any part
of the Parkway who need suggestions about where to
bird watch. Despite features which could have been
improved, the book provides much useful information
about bird distribution in the area covered. Simpson's
enthusiasm for birding in the Blue Ridge comes through
in the text, and the book includes much more than the
minimum amount of information required of a bird¬
finding guide. Many comments about the human history
of the area are included, along with many about the
natural history of organisms besides birds which might be
encountered. Birders will find the book to be a valuable
addition to the many birdfinding guides available for
other parts of the country, and it provides a welcome
supplement to the meager amount of birdfinding

information for the state of Virginia currently in print.

C. Michael Stinson
Department of Natural Sciences
Longwood College
Farmville, VA 23909

Reports

1 . Executive Meeting of the VNHS

The following members of the executive committee
were in attendance for the 2 December 1995 meeting at
Flampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, Virginia:
Anne Lund, Barry Knisley, Michael Kosztarab, Joe
Mitchell, Richard Neves, and Tom Rawinski. The meeting
was presided over by Knisley.

Anne Umd reported that the finances of the society
were in order and total funds on hand at this date were
$3,948.14. We still have to pay for the fall issue of the
journal before dues for 1996 would be included in the
treasury.

There is a vacancy7 in the Councilor positions. Judy
Winston of the Virginia Museum of Natural Flistory was
recommended and accepted by the executive committee.
This position will be voted on at the annual meeting in
May 1996 in Richmond. An announcement of the
councilor position will be placed in the journal.

Tom Rawinsky reported on the success of the Natural
History and Biodiversity Section meeting (our society’s
section in the VAS) of the Virginia Academy of Science at
VMI in 1995. Anne Lund will serve as secretary for the
section in 1996, prepare the program, and communicate
with the speakers. Possibilities for a new invited speakers
section in our meeting were discussed and we delegated
the duties to Anne to find a suitable person for 1995.

Several members of the executive committee suggested
that the membership be approached to determine whether
we should communicate our support of a strong
Endangered Species Act to Virginia’s Congressmen and
Senators. This will be done at the annual meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Anne Lund

2. Members in attendance of the business meeting
portion of the VNHS/VAS meeting in Richmond in

MISCELLANEA

1996 will help fill a vacant councilor position. Dr. Judy
Winston has been nominated and will run unopposed.
Please attend the business meeting on 23 May 1996.

Announcements

1 . Forthcoming meetings

Virginia Natural History Society - 23 May 1996. Virginia
Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, with the
Virginia Academy of Science. Contributed paper sessions
are 0800-1100 and 1415-1630. The VNHS business
meeting is at 1130, and two VA Junior Academy of
Science Award papers will be presented at 1100-1130.

1 his year the VNHS begins a special event for the meeting
day, the guest paper, which will be presented at 1330.
This year Teta Kain, ornithologist from Gloucester, VA
will give a paper on “Plover paradise: barrier island
nesting surveys.” For more information, contact Dr. Anne
C. Lund, Department of Biology, Hampden-Sydney
College, Hampden-Sydney, VA 23943 (804-223-6175).

2 . Natural History Education Events

Wintergreen Wildflower Weekend - 10-12 May 1996.
Lots of field trips and slide lectures on a wide array of
topics related to the plant kingdom. For information,
contact Wintergreen Nature Foundation, P.O. Box 468,
Wintergreen, VA 22958 (804-325-8172).

Wintergreen Namral History Weekend - 20-22 September
1996. Some 16-17 experts on the natural history of
Virginia will again present slide lectures and lead area field
trips for a diverse group of enthusiasts. Teachers can
receive recertification credits and student can obtain
college credits for participating in this event. For
information, contact Wintergreen Nature Foundation,
P.O. Box 468, Wintergreen, VA 22958 (804-325-8172).

3 . Books and other publications

A Guide to Endangered and Threatened Species in Virginia.
McDonald and Woodward Publishing Co., Blacksburg,
VA. 1995 (publication date in early 1996). This is the
abridged version of Virginia’s Endangered Species that
appeared in 1991. Look for a review of this new and
abridged version in a forthcoming issue of Banisteria. For

more information contact the McDonald & Woodward
Publishing Co., P.O. Box 10308, Blacksburg, VA 24062-
0308.

Seed Bugs of Virginia, by Richard L. Hoffman 1996. This is
the latest contribution to the Insects of Virginia series
formerly published by VPl&cSU and now published by
the Virginia Museum of Natural History. This issue is No.
14 in the series (114 pp) and was changed from the 6x9
inch format to 8.5x1 1 inch page size. It covers
descriptions, illustrations, distribution maps, arid
summaries of the biology of all 68 species. To order a
copy contact Publications, Virginia Museum of Natural
History, 1001 Douglas Ave., Martinsville, VA 24112.

Scale Insects of Northeastern North America, by Michael
Kosztarab, 1996, Virginia Museum of Natural History,
Special Publication No. 3. 650 pp. This book offers
complete coverage of the identification, biology, and
distribution of all the scale insects of northeastern North
America and Canada, and includes Virginia. To order a
copy contact Publications, Virginia Museum of Natural
History, 1001 Douglas Ave., Martinsville, VA 24112.

4 . National initiative to support non-game wildlife.

Teeming With Wildlife is a national effort to obtain
funds for all states for a variety of wildlife not currently
receiving support. This is often called the Nongame bill
because it will, if passed by the U.S. Congress, result in
money that can be used for research, education, and
support of those species not considered game. Game
animals and sport fisheries have received the benefit of a
surcharge on related sporting equipment for many years.
Wildlife has benefited from the Pittman-Robertson Act
and sport fisheries from the Dingell-Johnson and Wallop-
Breaux acts. The Teaming With Wildlife initiative has not
yet been introduced into Congress but, if passed, would
be based on a surcharge on recreational equipment and
gear used for nongame activities (e.g., binoculars, sleeping
bags, tents, etc.). Such a surcharge would amount to only
a few pennies per item and result, for Virginia, in about a
7 million dollar windfall. The exciting thing about this
initiative is that the money would be sent directly back to
the respective state. The result would be funding for the
plants and animals that have not been supported in the
past. Many organizations, agencies, officials, and

BANISTER1A

NO 7, 1996

corporations have signed on already. If you are interested
in learning more about this initiative and would like to
help, contact Jeff Walden, Fish and Wildlife Information
Exchange, Dept, of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences,
VPI&SU, 20 5 B Washington St., Blacksburg, VA 24060
(540-2 3 1-7 348), or Karen Terwilliger, Resource
Management .Associates, 28295 Burton Shore Rd., P.O.
Box 1 19, Locustville, VA 23404 (804-787-2637).

5 . Kudos to Reviewers

lire following people graciously reviewed manuscripts
for the first six issues of Banisteria: Barbara Abraham, Jim
Beard, Charles Covell, Rob Dillon, Carl Ernst, John
Hayden, Robert Jenkins, Barry Knisley, Michael
Kosztatab, W.H. Martin III, Eric Metzler, John Pagels,
Tom Rawinski, Steve Roble, Clark Schiffer, Rowland
Shelly, Dave Smith, Donna Ware, Stuart Ware, and A1
Wheeler. Some of these colleagues reviewed several
papers. The editors thank these reviewers and the
.Associate Editors for helping us to maintain a quality
natural history journal. We apologize to anyone we
inadvertently left off this list.

6. VNHS President Highlighted

“Stalking Tigers of the Beach”, an article by Paul
Clancy, in the May/June 1996 issue of the Nature
Conservancy magazine, describes the pioneering (and
successful!) efforts by Barry Knisley and James Hill to re'
establish the northeastern beach tiger beetle to the coast
of New Jersey using larvae captured in Virginia. Tire
article contains good photos of both Barry and one of the
tiger beetles. Congratulations on success of the operation!

Instructions for Contributors

Banisteria accepts manuscripts of one to several pages
in length that contribute to the public and scientific
knowledge of the natural history of Virginia. This
publication is intended to be an outlet for the kind of
information that is useful but would not be accepted in
the mainstream journals. Information found in field note-
books and files that never made it into scientific journals
is especially important. Banisteria’s focus is classical and
therefore slanted toward organismal biology.

Manuscripts should be sent in duplicate to one of the
Co-editors, who will assign them to an appropriate section
editor, who in turn will seek one or sometimes two re¬
views. Reviews of manuscripts written by a section editor
wall be handled by a different editor. Authors should
retain both the original typescript and figures until final
acceptance for publication. Photocopies are adequate for
review' purposes.

Manuscripts must be written on one side of standard
size paper (21.5 x 28 cm) using double spacing
throughout. Words should not be hyphenated.

Manuscripts should he arranged in the following
order: title, author’s name, author’s address, text,
acknowledgments, literature cited, tables, figure legends,
figures. Long manuscripts should have standard sections,
e.g., Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion.
Short manuscripts (<4-6 pages) should not have these
sections, and should be formatted to the style of “Shorter
Contributions” .All pages should be numbered, including
tables. The title should be concise but informative. It, and
the author’s name and address should be centered at the
top of the first page. Hie text should begin on the first
page beneath the author’s address. Use good judgment
on arrangement of sections when other than the standard
approach is necessary. Use underlines for species’
scientific names. In general the most recent issue of
Banisteria may be used as a model for organization of the
manuscript.

References: Use the following as a guide. Do not abbrevi¬
ate journal names.

Journal article with 1 author

Scott, D. 1986. Notes on the eastern hognose snake,
Heterodon platyrhinos Latreille (Squamata: Colubridae), in a
Virginia barrier island. Brimleyana 12:51-55.

Journal with 2 authors

Tilley, S. C., & D. W. Tinkle. 1968. A reinterpretation of
the reproductive cycle and demography of the salamander
Desmognathusochrophaeus Copeia 1968:299-303.

Journal with 3+ authors

Funderburg, J. B„ P. Hertz, & W. M. Kerfoot. 1974. A
range extension for the carpenter frog, Rana virgatipes
Cope, in the Chesapeake Bay region. Bulletin Maryland

MISCELLANEA

Herpetological Society 10:77-79.

Book

Harris, L. D. 1984. Tire Fragmented Forest. University of
Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 21 1 pp.

Chapter in a book

Gentry, A. H. 1986. Endemism in tropical versus temper¬
ate plant communities. Pp. 153-181 In M. Soule (ed.),
Conservation Biology. Sinauer .Associates, Inc.,
Sunderland, Massachusetts.

Report:

The Nature Conservancy. 1975. Tire preservation of
namral diversity: A survey and recommendations. Report
to the U.S. Dept, of Interior, Washington, D.C., 189 pp.
(include report series and number if present).

Tables: Each table should be typed on a separate sheet of
paper. A legend for each table should follow the number
and must be on the same page as the table. Ruled,
horizontal lines should be avoided except at the top and
bottom of the table.

Figures: Black and white line drawings are acceptable for
publication. They should be less than 21.5 x 28 cm in
size. Tire back of each figure should be labeled with the

author’s name.

Photographs: Banisteria will accept high contrast black
and white photographs. Submit at least 5x7 inch photos
and mount them if possible.

Abbreviations: The following common abbreviations are
accepted in Banisteria: n (sample size), no. (number), SVL
(snout-vent length; define on first usage); yr (years), mo
(months), wk (weeks), lr (hours), min (minutes), s
(seconds), P (probability), df (degrees of freedom), SD and
SE (standard deviation and standard error), ns (not
significant), 1 (lifer), g (gram), mm (millimeter), and C
(degrees Celsius). Do not abbreviate “male” and “female”,
or dates, or undefined terms.

Electronic transfer of manuscripts: Once a manuscript
has been accepted for publication, one paper copy and an
electronic copy on a 3.5 inch diskette should be sent to
R.L Hoffman at the Virginia Museum of Natural History.
If possible, use IBM-compatible systems with Word
Perfect or Microsoft Word.

Reprints: Reprints are not provided. However, authors
may photocopy their own articles for personal use and for
exchange purposes.

,New„Y°rk Botanical Garden Library

1 II

5185 00269

9344

Chrysogonum virginianum Linnaeus

Original drawing by John Banister. Figure 83 in folio in Hans Sloane's MS 4002 in the British
Museum. Photocopy courtesy of Joseph and Nesta Ewan.

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